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UC  SOUTHERN 

REGIONAL  Lit 

HOVEY 
Guide  Book  to  the  Mam- 
moth Cave. 


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HORMOE    C.     HO^eV. 


SIXTEENTH    EDITION,    REVISED   AND    ENLARGED. 


CINCINNATI : 

THE    ROBERT   CLARKE    COMPANY. 

iSfS. 

(copyrighted.) 


Hovey's  Illustrated  Liectares. 


I.  Subterranean  Scenery  and  the  Lovely  Caverns  of  Luray. 
II.  The  Wonders  of  Wyandot  and  Marengo  Caverns. 

III.  The  Mazes  and  Marvels  of  Mammoth  Cave. 

IV.  Cliff  and  Cave  Dwellers  of  Arizona  and   New  Mexico. 
V.  Mountaineering  in  Colorado:    Its  Caves   and   Canons. 

VI.  The  Camera  on  the  Tornado's  Track. 
VII.  Subterranean  Life  as  bearing  on  Theories  of  Evolution. 
VIII.  Acadia:    Land  of  Blue  Noses  and  Home  of  Evangeline. 

Magnificent  pictures!  And  the  fact  that  he  has  seen  all  he  describes  adds  interest  to  his 
very  instructive  lectures. — Philadelphia  Enquirer. 

Dr.  Hovey  is  one  of  the  foremost  cave  explorers  in  the  country,  and  can  tell  many 
thrilling  stories  of  underground  adventure.— AVw  York  Tribune. 

Chickerinir  Hall  was  crowded  by  the  intellectual  elite  of  New  York  to  hear  Dr.  Hovey 
lecture  on  Miininiolh  Cove,  and  ihe  general  verdict  pronounced  it  one  of  the  most  fa.sci- 
natinj;  lectures  ever  given.  As  a  popular  lecturer  Dr.  Hovey  has  lew  equhls-Srientific 
American. 

Whether  he  treats  of  caverns,  mountains,  or  tornadoes,  the  lecturer's  own  interest  in 
his  subject  never  fails  to  engage  that  of  his  hearers.— Minneapoli.?  Tribune. 

Each  lecture  is  illustrated  by  a  huudred  views,  taken  by  expert 
artists  at  great  original  expense  and  exhibited  by  a  powerful  stereppticon. 
For  terms  and  further  information  apply  to  the  Redpath  Lyceum  Bureau, 
Tribune  Building,  Chicago,  111.,  and  120  Treniont  Street,  Boston,  Mass.; 
or  tiirectly  to 

H.  C.  HOVEY,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Hovey's  Celebrated  flmepican  Caverns. 

Celebrated  American  Caverns,  especially  Mammoth,  Wyandot,  and  Luray; 
witli  Brief  Notices  of  Caves  and  Grottoes  in  other  lands.  Maps  and 
Illustrations.     By  Horace  C.  Hovey,  D.D.,  F.G.S.,  etc. 

A  handsome  8vo  volume.    228  pages.    Price,  $2.00. 

Will  be  sent  by  mail  on  receipt  of  the  price. 

This  work  is  recognized  as  a  standard  authority  on  the  subject  both  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe.  In  it  facts  art  sifted  from  fancies,  all  former  material  has  been  carefully  col- 
lated, and  much  new  material  added,  as  the  result  of  the  author's  explorations.  Dr. 
HiiVey's  frimiliaiity  with  geology  ami  other  branches  of  natural  science,  together  with  tils 
clfrtmess  of  .style  and  vividness  of  description,  make  this  work  one  of  the  most  instructive 
and  entertaining  ever  offered  to  the  public.  His  monographs  on  single  caverns,  in  the  En- 
cyclopedia Britannica,  and  in  i-cribner's  and  other  magazines  and  scientifie  periodicals. 
hiv  wiin  for  the  author,  deservedly,  a  wide  and  lasting  fame.  The  numerous  maps  and 
iiiiis  a-id  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  work;  and  tlie  pictorial  illus-trations  are  from 
ii^s  made  expressly  for  the  volume  by  Barton,  i'enell,  Lee,  and  other  artists  of  repu- 

While  the  largest  space  is  reserved  for  the  three  most  famous  caverns  named  in  thetitle 
page,  full  notices  are  given  of  \Vever'.«,  Howe's,  and  Pickett's  caves,  tlieCave  of  Cacahna- 
milpa,  Canadian  caves,  the  CI  iff  Dwellers  of  New  Spain,  etc.  The  prel  minary  chapters, 
on  the  structure,  varieties,  mineral  contents,  and  arcna:ology  of  caverns  are  elear  and  in- 
structive.   The  work  is  admirably  indexed. 

The  Robert  Clarke  Company,  Publishers,  Cincinnati,  0. 


Mammoth  Cave 


GUIDE   BOOK 


MAMMOTH    CAVE 


OF  KENTUCKY 


HISTOPJUAL,  SCIENTIFIC,  AND  DESCPJPTIYE 


HOI^ACE    C.   HOVEY 


C I  N  C  I  N  N  A  T  1 
THE  KOBERT  CLARKE  COMPANY. 

18^5. 


Copyright,  1882. 
ir  ROBERT  CLARKE  &  iij 


MAMMOTH   CAVE 


CHAPTER  I. 


Pioneer  Patriots — Saltpeter  Miners — Discovery  of  ]\rammoth  Cave — 
War  of  1812 — Change  of  Owners — The  Croghan  Heirs — The  Guides 
— Early  Literature  of  this  Cavern — Its  Geological  Survey — Its  Fauna 
— Map-making  under  Difficulties. 

The  pioneers  who  followed  in  the  wake  of  Daniel 
Boone,  a  centuiy  ago,  were  thrown  on  their  own  resources 
in  all  respects.  Gunpowder  was  one  of  the  necessa- 
ries of  life  for  men  in  daily  peril  from  wild  beasts  and 
more  savage  Indians;  hut  its  importation  was  attended 
with  expense  and  difficulty.  Hence  they  sent  out  such 
strolling  chemists  as  happened  to  he  among  them,  to  hunt 
for  niter  beds.  These  were  found  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties under  the  shelter  of  ledges  at  the  heads  of  ravines. 
The  jutting  crags  reminded  them  of  "Gothic  cathedrals 
and  the  ruins  of  baronial  castles"  (as  one  of  them  ex- 
pressed himself  in  writing  to  his  friends),  and  therefore 
they  called  the  smaller  ones  "  Rock  Houses,"  and  the 
larger  ones  "  Rock  Castles."  The  soil  and  sand-banks, 
thus  protected  from  the  rains,  proved  to  be  richly  impreg- 
nated with  the  coveted  saltpeter,  and  solid  masses  were 
sometimes  found  weighing  from  100  to  1,600  pounds. 
Usually,  however,  three  men  would  not  obtain  more  than 
from  50  to  100  pounds  a  day  at  the  works. 

The  tools  and  methods  used  were  of  the  most  primitive 
kind,  and  the  workmen  were  readily  induced  to  forsake 
a  niter-bed  as  soon  as  its  yield  grew  scanty,  and  were  con- 
tinually searching  for  masses  of  pure  niter,  and  hoping  to 
find  veins  of  precious  ores.  This  led  to  the  exploration 
of  calcareous  caverns,  of  which  as  many  as  twenty-eight 
are  said  to  have  been  found  in  Kentucky  before  the  year 
1800.     A    Mr.    Fowler   obtained   from   tliem   more    than 


o  Cclcf>i'>iti  il  Aiiurlciiii  (.'tim-iia. 

J 00,000  pounds  of  niter,  and  tlu'V  were  so  faitfroni  being 
exhausted  that,  actMH'diiiii;  to  the  estimate  of  local  chem- 
ists, the  deposit-  rcniaininii:  in  six  of  them  exceeded  2,000,- 
000  pounds. 

In  tiic  yvAV  ITOii  a  pioneer,  namecl  l>al<er,  entered  an 
arched  openinu-  ncai-  Crooked  creek,  in  Madison  county, 
about  r»0  miles  south-east  of  Lexington,  and  proceeding  a 
short  distance  nnder-gronnd,  saw  so  many  tilings  to  excite 
his  wonder,  that  he  returned  to  jiis  ealiin  and  took  ah)ng 
witli  him  his  wife  ami  three  chihlren  to  enjoy  the  farther 
exploration.  They  carried  with  them  a  torch  and  a  sup- 
ply of  pine  splinters,  but  no  food.  .Vdvancing  about  500 
yards,  Mr.  Baker  unfortunately  dropped  his  torch  and  it 
was  extinguished.  "For  two  days  and  nights  this  mis- 
erable family  wandered  in  total  darkness,  without  provis- 
ion and  without  water,  though  sometimes  within  hearing  of 
a  cataract  which  they  durst  not  approach.  At  length  Mrs. 
Baker,  in  attempting  to  support  herself  on  a  rock,  per- 
ceived that  it  was  wet,  and  conjectured  that  this  was 
caused  by  the  mud  which  they  had  brought  in  on  their 
feet.  Baker  immediately  ascended  the  rock,  and  saw  the 
hght  of  day!" 

This  locality  became  known  throughout  the  region  as 
'•the  Great  Cave,''  and  was  particuhirly  described  by 
Samuel  Brown,  M.  I).,  of  Lexington,  in  a  paper  read  by 
him  before  the  American  Philosophical  ISociety,  in  1806 — 
jirobably  the  very  first  of  all  communications  of  its  kind 
in  this  country. 

I)r.  Brown  describes  the  Great  Cave  as  having  two 
mouths,  040  yards  apart,  with  a  commodious  passage  for 
wagons  from  one  to  the  other,  the  floor  having  the  appear- 
ance of  a  public  road  that  had  been  much  frequented. 
The  level  is  80  feet  above  that  of  Crooked  creek,  from 
which  its  entrance  is  150  yards  distant.  The  arch  varies 
from  10  feet  to  60;  and  the  breadth  averages  40  feet, 
though  in  some  parts  it  is  70  or  80  feet.  The  narrator  en- 
larges on  the  scenes  romantic  and  sublime  that  astonish 
the  beholder,  when  the  vast  chambers  are  "sufficiently 
illuminated  by  the  torches  and  lamps  of  the  workmen." 


Mammoth  Cave.  3 

The  statement  is  made  that  the  temperature  of  the  cave 
never  falls  much  below  52  degrees  Fah.,  even  in  the  cold- 
est winter  weather,  and  does  not  rise  above  57  degrees  at 
any  time.  To  this,  iiowever,  a  curious  exception  is  made, 
which  I  give  in  Dr.  Brown's  own  words  :  *'  In  one  chamber 
the  heat  was  frequently  so  great  as  to  be  disagreeable. 
The  room  is  nearly  circular  and  about  20  feet  in  diameter. 
The  air  which  fills  the  main  avenue  in  summer  and  au- 
tumn is  forced  into  this  chamber,  whenever  the  external 
atmospheric  air  becomes  so  much  condensed  by  cold  as  to 
rush  into  the  mouth  of  the  cave;  and  whenever  during 
the  winter  any  portion  of  air  in  the  main  avenue  is  heated 
by  fires  or  lamps,  as  this  heated  air  can  not  escape  by  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  (for  the  arch  descends  toward  the 
mouth)  it  ascends  into  this  chamber  and  rises  to  the  ceiling, 
where  it  must  remain."  lie  then  compares  this  peculiar 
cell  to  the  Russian  vapor  bath  to'which  Count  Rumford 
had  recently  called  the  public  attention. 

TVorkmen  dug  down  fifteen  feet  into  the  soil  on  the 
floor  of  this  cave,  and  found  it  still  rich  in  niter,  although 
no  animal  remains  are  mentioned,  nor  Indian  relics. 

The  learned  authority  quoted  next  enters  into  the  de- 
tails of  preparing  saltpeter  for  the  market,  claiming  for  it 
superiority  to  that  found  in  Spain  and  India,  and  closes 
his  really  remarkable  and  historic  paper  with  an  appeal  to 
the  patriotism  of  Americans  to  make  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  foreign  sources  of  supply.  "  A  concern  for 
the  glory  and  defense  of  our  country,"  observes  Dr.  Brown,. 
"  should  prompt  such  of  our  chemists  as  have  talents  and 
leisure  to  investigate  this  interesting  subject.  I  suspect 
that  we  have  much  to  learn  with  regard  to  this  salt,  so 
valuable  in  time  of  peace,  so  indispensable  in  time  of  war." 

Had  Mammoth  Cave,  with  its  immense  deposits  of  ni- 
trous earth,  been  known  at  the  time  the  exhaustive  de- 
scription from  which  I  have  made  extracts  was  prepared 
(viz.,  in  1806),  the  important  fact  would  certainly  have 
been  recorded.  I  am  led,  therefore,  to  set  aside  the  state- 
ment made  by  Bayard  Taylor  and  others — I  know  not  on 
what  authority^-that  this  cavern  was  first  entered  in  1802, 


4  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

juul  to  ;>coc-pt  the  commonly  received  tradition  that  it  was 
discovered  l>y  a  luintcr  named  Hutchins,  in  1809,  while 
].ursning  a  wounded  boar.  The  aperture  hy  which  Hutch- 
ins entered  was  small  at  the  time,  and  has  since  been  consid- 
orablv  enlarged.  It  is  not  regarded  as  the  original  mouth, 
whicii  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  reality  the  mouth  of 
Dixon's  Cave,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  it,  a 
magniticent  hall,  120  feet  high,  60  feet  wide,  and  1,500 
feet  long,  as  measured  by  me. 

The  first  purchaser  of  what  is  now  held  as  very  valua- 
ble property,  was  "  a  small,  dark,  wiry  man  of  great  en- 
erffv  and  industry,"  whose  name  was  McLean,  and  who, 
for  840,  bought  the  cave  and  200  acres  besides!  He  soon 
sold  it  to  Mr.  Gatewood,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  founder 
of  Bell's  Tavern — that  celebrated  hostelry  of  by-gone  days. 
After  enlarging  the  works,  Gatewood  sold  them  to  Messrs. 
Gratz,  of  Philadelphia,  and  AVilkins,  of  Lexington,  Ky., 
who  brought  experience  and  capital  to  aid  in  developing 
the  hidden  resources  of  Mammoth  Cave.  Their  agent, 
lsh\  Archibald  Miller,  employed  a  large  number  of  negro 
miners,  who  were  reported  as  finding  there  a  quantity  of 
nitrous  earth  "  sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  population 
of  the  globe  with  saltpeter ! " 

During  the  war  of  1812,  our  government  being  excluded 
from  foreign  sources  of  supply,  had  use  for  all  that  the 
miners  Avere  able  to  furnish  under  the  circumstances. 
There  were  lofty  mountains  and  interminable  forests  be- 
tween them  and  the  sea-board,  but  under  the  two-fold 
impetus  of  patriotism  and  high  prices,  Gratz  ajul  Wilkins, 
and  others  who  embarked  in  the  speculation,  though  with 
less  brilliant  success,  transported  thousands  of  pounds  of 
the  precious  salt  by  ox-carts,  and  on  pack-mules,  mainly 
to  Philadelphia.  Let  it  be  remembered  by  a  gratetul 
people  that  this  Kentucky  salt  went  far  toward  saving  the 
nation  in  its  hour  of  deadly  peril ! 

The  method  of  manufacture,  as  nearly  as  I  have  been  able 
to  ascertain  it,  was  as  follows:  The  nitrous  earth  was  col- 
lected from  various  parts  of  the  cave,  by  means  of  ox- 
carts for  which  roads  were  constructed  that  are  in  them- 


Mamynoth  Cave.  5 

selves  surprising  monuments  of  industry,  and  the  soil 
thus  gathered  was  carried  to  hoppers  of  simple  construc- 
tion, each  having  a  capacity  of  from  50  to  100  bushels. 
Cold  water,  conveyed  by  wooden  pipes  into  the  cave,  was 
poured  on  the  charge  in  each  hopper,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  a  solution  of  the  salts  would  run  into  the  vats  below, 
whence  it  was  pumped  into  a  second  set  of  pipes,  tilted 
so  as  to  let  the  liquor  flow  out  of  the  cave.  After  boiling 
a  while  in  the  open  air,  it  was  run  through  hoppers  con- 
taining wood  ashes,  the  result  being,  if  skill  had  been 
used  in  mixing  materials,  a  clear  solution  of  the  nitrate 
of  potash,  which,  having  been  boiled  down  sufficiently, 
was  put  in  troughs  for  cooling.  In  about  24  hours  the 
crystals  were  taken  out  ready  for  transportation. 

Ordinary  "  peter  dirt,"  as  the  miners  called  it,  was  ex- 
pected to  yield  from  three  to  five  pounds  of  the  nitrate  of 
lime  to  the  bushel  ;  and  to  make  100  pounds  of  saltpeter 
it  would  be  necessary  to  use  18  bushels  of  oak  ashes,  or 
10  of  elm,  or  two  of  ashes  made  by  burning  the  dry  wood 
in  hollow  trees.  It  is  stated  that  "  the  contract  for  the 
supply  of  the  fixed  alkali  alone,  for  this  cave,  for  the  year 
1814,  was  twenty  thousand  dollars  ;  "  from  which  we  may 
infer  the  extent  to  which  saltpeter  was  manufactured  at 
that  time. 

When  the  war  was  happily  ended  by  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  the  demand  for  saltpeter  fell  ofi*  to  such  a  degree 
that  Messrs.  Gratz  and  Wilkins  stopped  the  manufacture 
at  Mammoth  Cave,  and  since  then  it  has  been  valued 
mainly  as  a  place  of  exhibition.  The  original  territory  of 
200  acres  has  grown  to  nearly  2000  acres,  a  portion  of 
which  has  some  value  for  farming  purposes,  while  other 
parts  are  covered  by  heavy  timber.  Most  of  it  was  ac- 
quired for  the  sake  of  controlling  all  possible  entrances  to 
the  under-lying  cavern. 

Mr.  Archibald  Miller,  aided  by  his  brothers  William 
and  James,  was  the  agent  of  Messrs.  Gratz  and  Wilkins, 
and  remained  at  the  cave  to  look  after  their  interests  and 
to  show  the  place  to  visitors.  His  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
James  Moore,  at  one  time   a  wealthy  merchant  in  Phila- 


(5  CcJi'hnilnl  American    Cdrcrvs. 

(lolplii;i,  took  ]»ossossioii  of  the  pi-oiici-ty  in  ll^lO.  lie  be- 
t;niic  mixfd  uj).  in  some  iiiaiiiicr,  \\\\\\  tlic  conspiracy  of 
r>iirr  and  lilcniuTliassutt,  and  was  iinanciallj  ruined, 
(iatewood  again  took  charge  of  Ili«'  cave  for  a  number  of 
Years,  a  period  not  marked  by  any  inijiortant  events,  either 
of  manufacture  oi-  discovery. 

Mr.  Frank  (Jorin  bouglit  tlio  ]irr)pcrty  in  1837,  employ- 
ing Messrs.  Moore  and  Arcliibald  Miller,  Jr.,  as  his  agents. 
The  circumstance  of  ^fr.  C.  F.  Harvey's  being  lost  in  the 
cave  for  39  hours,  determined  the  proprietor  to  make  more 
thorough  explorations,  in  the  course  of  vliich  he  found 
the  great  chamber  called,  in  honor  of  him,  "  Gorin's 
Dome."  lie  also  placed  Stephen  and  Matt,  as  guides,  who 
aided  in  making  further  discoveries ;  so  that,  ^vithin  the 
next  five  years,  tlie  known  regions  of  the  cave  were  at 
least  trebled. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  special  land 
grants  liaving  been  made  to  officers  and  soldiers  in  the 
vicinity  of  Green  river.  Major  "William  Croghan,  a  Scotch- 
man who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  United  States 
army,  was  sent  to  survey  and  distribute  them.  His  office 
was  located  at  Louisville,  where  he  also  married  a  sister 
of  General  G.  I\.  Clarke.  lie  left  five  sons  and  two 
daughters.  John,  the  second  son,  was  graduated  from  the 
t^nivorsity  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1813,  and  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  liush,  of  Philadelphia,  afterward  taking  a  sup- 
plementary course  at  Edinburgh.  During  his  travels  in 
the  Old  "World,  Dr.  Croghan  was  repeatedly  asked  for 
]tarticulars  as  to  the  chief  curiosity  of  liis  native  state, 
and  the  result  of  his  mortification  at  his  inability  to  reply 
was  that,  on  returning,  he  visited  and  finally  purchased 
the  Mainmoth  Cave.  He  continued  the  management  as 
he  found  it,  but  expended  large  sums  on  roads,  bridges 
and  buildings.  Dr.  Croghan  never  married;  and  when  he 
died,  in  1845,  he  left  the  estate  to  trustees,  to  be  managed 
for  his  eleven  ne}>hews  and  nieces,  the  children  of  Col. 
George  Croghan,  Mr.  AVm.  Croghan,  and  Gen.  Thomas  S. 
Jessup.  Seven  of  these  now  survive;  of  whom  four  re- 
side in  "Washington,  D.  C,  two  in  New  York,  and  one  in 


3Iammoth  Cave.  7 

San  Francisco.  The  business  at  the  cavo  has  been  carried 
on  bj  agents,  amono-  whom  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  L.  R. 
Proctor,  Captain  W.  S.  Miller,  and  Mr.  Francis  Klett,  and 
Mr.  H.  C.  Ganter,  whose  extensive  improvements  have 
made  the  cave  more  accessible,  and  whose  urbanity  and 
excellent  regime  have  won  many  friends. 

A  brief  description  of  the  guides  is  here  in  place  ;  for 
while  others  explore  these  subterranean  reahns  occasion- 
ally, these  men  do  so  daily,  until  they  become  almost  iden- 
tified with  ths  rocks,  rivers,  and  crystals  found  there. 


Stephen  Bishop,  the  Guide— Mammoth  Cave, 

The  original  guide,  whose  daring  exploits  and  striking 
traits  made  him  famous,  was  Stephen  Bishop.  He  was  a 
slave,  half  negro  and  half  Indian,  although  the  latter  point 
is  in  doubt.  His  likeness  shows  him  to  have  had  intelli- 
gence and  wit,  and  the  statements  of  his  employers  and 
visitors  agree  in  according  to  him  an  excellent  knowledge 
of  geology  and  other  sciences,  so  far  as  they  related  to 
caverns.  He  had  also  a  smattering  of  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  a  fund  of  miscellaneous  information.  The  remains 
of  this  sable  son  of  genius  now  rest  beneath  a  cedar  tree 
in  the  tangled  grave-yard  near  the  garden. 

Matt  and  Nick  Bransford,  formerly  slaves,  were   for 


8  Celebrated  American  Tafcrns. 

iii:iii\-  vcars  cMiiplovcil  :is  irnidt-s  ;  l)nt  now  tlio  one  is  dead, 
jiiid  tlio  otlier  is  rctiivd  from  sei-vit-o  on  account  of 
liis  intirmitit's.  William  (Jarvin  lias  been  a  guide  for 
twenty-six  years  and  is  a  y-eneral  favorite.  Henry,  the 
son  of  old  Matt,  Eddie  IJisliop,  a  nephew  of  Steplien,  and 
several  special  guides  for  occasional  service,  are  all 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  ramitications  of  the  great 
( :iv.'i-n,  and  ready  to  enliven  the  trip  by  drawing  on  their 
repei'toire  of  j(d<;es,  original  and  selected.  Civil  and  re- 
spectful as  these  men  uniformly  are,  the  tourist  will  do 
Well  to  heed  alike  tbeir  instructions  and  their  authority. 
Tlieir  prompt  alacrity  has  saved  more  than  one  valuable 
life  when  suddenly  endangered;  and  it  is  also  their  duty 
to  jtrotect  the  cave  property  from  the  wanton  or  thought- 
less injury  that  miglit  otherwise  be  wrought  by  reckless 
liands.  By  special  acts  of  tl.e  state  legislature  it  is  made 
a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  of  fifty  dollars,  to  de- 
face or  mutdate  any  part  of  any  of  the  several  caverns  on 
the  Mammoth  Cave  estate,  or  to  chip  oflt  or  carry  away 
any  specimens  from  them.  Protection  is  likewise  ex- 
tended to  the  trees,  shrubbery,  fish  and  game  on  said  es- 
tate, and  the  manager  and  guides  have  power  to  see  that 
these  wise  enactments  are  enforced.  Canes,  torches,  tire- 
works,  geological  hammci-s  and  survey  ors  instruments  are 
for  obvious  reasons  interdicted.  Lamps  are  admissible, 
and  the  guides  burn  chemical  tires  at  various  points  of  in- 
terest. Choice  specimens  can  be  bought  at  fair  prices  from 
the  hotel  cabinet  as  souvenirs. 

Tin-  early  literature  of  Mammoth  Cave  is  scattered 
through  many  magazines  and  newspapers.  The  oldest 
account  that  has  fallen  under  my  observation  is  contained 
in  a  letter  from  Louisville,  dated  July  5,  1814,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Medical  Bcpositortj,  vol.  xvii,  pp.  391-393.  It 
is  accompanied  by  a  map  and  a  list  of  localities.  The  name 
given  is  the  "Green  River,  or  Mammoth  Cave."  The 
letter-writer  describes  a  mummy  "  supposed  to  have  been 
a  queen,"  found  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of 
the  cave,  but  "  lately  deposited  there  from  a  neighboring 
cave."     It  is  curious  to  note  the  old  names.     Audubou 


Mammoth  Cave.  9 

Avenue  was  called  "  The  Right-hand  Chamber ; "  the 
Corkscrew,  "  The  Mountain  Room  ;  "  The  Gothic  Gallery, 
the  "  Sand  Room ; "  the  Gothic  Avenue  "  The  Haunted 
Room;"  and  the  Chief  City,  "  The  Devil's  Chamber,  sup- 
posed to  be  ten  miles  from  the  mouth  !  "  In  the  lledical 
Repository,  vol.  xviii,  is  a  le'  ter  from  Mr.  Gratz,  one  of  the 
owners  of  the  great  cave,  and  also  an  engraving  of  the 
famous  mummy  from  a  drawing  by  Rafinesque.  Mr.  Wil- 
kins,  the  other  owner,  wrote  an  account  that  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  vol.  I.,  where  are  also  letters  by  S.  L.  Mitchill, 
M.I).,  concerning  the  mummies  found  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  The  oft-quoted  letter  of  Nahum  Ward,  M.D., 
dated  Marietta,  0.,  April  4,  1816,  was  first  published  in 
the  ^Yorcestcr  Spy,  and  reprinted  in  the  Monthly  Magazine 
or  British  Register,  July,  1816,  with  a  map  of  the  cave  and 
an  engraving  of  the  mummy.  The  "  Great  Kentucky 
Cavern  "  is  numbered  among  "  The  Hundred  Wonders  of 
the  World,"  in  a  book  with  that  title,  by  Rev.  E.  C.  Clark, 
published  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  1821. 

A  survey  of  the  Mammoth  Cave  was  made,  in  1834-5, 
by  Edmund  E.  Lee,  C.E.,  who  devoted  three  months  to 
the  task,  and  his  "  Map  with  l^otes "  was  published  by 
James  &  Gazley,  of  Cincinnati,  0.  ISText  came  a  brilliant 
account,  in  the  American  Monthly  Magazine,  May  and 
June,  1837,  by  Robert  M.  Bird,  M.D.  (author  of  "  Calavar"), 
with  an  engraving,  by  Sartain,  of  the  mouth  surrounded 
by  the  ruins  of  the  saltpeter  works.  Dr.  Dekay  gave  the 
first  description  of  the  blind  fish  {Amblyopsis  spelceus),  in 
1842,  see  Zoology  of  New  York,  pt.  3d,  p.  187.  Profes- 
sors Locke,  Wyman,  Agassiz,  Silliman,  and  others,  have 
at  difterent  times  written  communications  as  to  the  phe- 
nomena of  Mammoth  Cave,  that  have  appeared  in  the 
American  Joinmal  of  Science  and  Art;  and  an  extended 
description  of  the  cave  fauna,  by  Dr.  Telkampf,  appeared, 
in  1844,  with  figures,  in  3rdller\s  Archiv. 

"  Rambles  in  the  Mammoth  Cave,  during  the  year  1844, 
by  a  Visitor"  (supposed  to  be  by  Alexander  BuUett,  Esq.), 
with  six  cuts,  and  a  map,  by  Stephen,  the  guide,  was  pub- 
lished bv^lorton  &  Griswold,  of  Louisville,  in  184.5.    Col- 


10  Cilihrdtid  American  Cavcryis. 

liu's  "  History  of  Kentucky  "  (1847),  contains  quite  a  full 
iiocount  of  tliis  cave.  "A  Pictorial  Guide  to  the  Mam- 
niotli  Cave,"'  Avilli  nine  cuts  and  eleven  poems,  came  from 
the  jicn  of  Ucv.  Horace  Mai-tiii.  in  ISol ;  and.  in  the  same 
year,  "  An  OHicer  of  the  lioyal  Artillery,"'  gave  a  most  en- 
tertaining account  in  Frazcrs  Magazine^  republished  in 
LUtdVs  Living  Age,  No.  348.  One  still  more  graphic  Avas 
written  in  18:)5,  l)y  Bayard  Taylor,  for  the  Xrw  York  Trib- 
nne,  afterwards  published  in  his  "At  Home  and  Abroad." 
Professor  AV right's  "Guide  Manual"  was  printed  in  1860, 
jit  LouisvilK'.  "  "The  Mammoth  Cave  and  its  Denizens," 
by  A.  1).  Pinkcrd,  M.D.,  was  published,  in  1869,  by  Rob- 
ert Clarke  &  Co.,  of  Cincinnati,  0.  Photographs  taken 
liy  magnesium  and  other  methods,  by  Messrs.  "Waldack, 
Thuniin,  Sesser,  Ilains  and  Darnall,  are  on  sale  at  the 
iiotel  as  cabinet  and  stereoscopic  views,  and  in  fine  albums. 
Forwood's  "  Historical  and  Descriptive  Xarrative  of  the 
Mammoth  Cave,"  with  twelve  illustrations  and  a  map, 
passed  through  four  editions  between  1870  and  1875.  It 
is  from  observations  made  in.  1867,  supplemented  by  infor- 
mation derived  from  Messrs.  Proctor  and  Gorin,  and 
others,  and  embodies  the  results  of  much  investigation. 
The  illustrated  description,  by  A.  P.  Waud,  in  Appleton's 
•'Picturesque  America,"  vol.  II.,  pp.  540-544,  is  very  fine, 
artistically  considered. 

The  State  Geological  Purvey  of  Kentucky — both  the 
former  one  under  Prof.  D.  D.  Owen,  and  that  now  in 
progress  under  Prof.  X.  S.  Shaler,  with  an  able  staff  of 
assistants — contains  valuable  materials  as  to  the  cavern 
region  of  the  Ohio  valley.  Admirable  monographs  on 
cave  animals  have  been  published  by  Professors  Putnam, 
I'ackard,  Cope,  S.  I.  Smith  and  II.  G.  Hubbard.  The  lat- 
ter gives  a  table  of  the  fauna  of  Mammoth  Cave,  includ- 
ing all  s})ecie3  described  down  to  March,  1880.  Omitting 
scientific  details,  it  may  be  stated,  in  a  general  way,  that 
there  liave  thus  far  l)een  described,  as  8i:)ecies  peculiar  to 
this  cavern  :  Vertebrata,  4  ;  Insecta,  14  ;  Arachnida,  8  ; 
Myriapoda,  2  :  Crustacea,  5  ;  Vermes,  3  ;  Polygastric  In- 
fusoria, 8;  and  I'hytolitharia,  5.* 

•See  Appendix  for  an  account  of  Fauna  and  Flora. 


Mammoth  Cave.  w 

To  all  the  foregoiiii:::  authorities  I  desire  to  express  my 
-obligation  for  facts  and  suggestions  that  have  been  of  use 
in  the  study  of  the  subjects  treated  in  this  volume,  and  in 
my  former  articles  in  Scribncrs  Magazine  (April  and  Oct., 
1880),  and  in  other  periodicals. 

The  maps  made  of  Mammoth  Cave  are  in  themselves  an 
interesting  study.  A  critic  would  hardly  recognize  them 
as  representations  of  the  same  locality.  Few  can  appre- 
ciate the  ditHculties  of  an  underground  survey,  amid  rug- 
ged and  tortuous  paths,  deep  pits  and  lofty  domes,  all 
"wrapped  in  darkness  but  imperfectly  scattered  by  lamp- 
light. Imagine  a  map  of  Pike's  Peak  plotted  from  ob- 
servations taken  bv  torchlight  on  a  series  of  moonless 
midnights  !  Then,  again,  the  singular  atmospheric  condi- 
tions throw  doubt  on  the  barometrical  tests,  though  applied 
by  men  of  experience.  A  few  facts  only,  of  this  nature, 
seem  to  be  agreed  on,  and  those  are  mentioned  in  their 
place  in  another  chapter.  I  am  informed  that  a  set  of 
levels  was  run  by  the  State  Geological  Survey,  from  Green 
river  to  Echo  river,  but  the  results,  I  believe,  have  not 
appeared. 

It  should  be  understood,  therefore,  that  accuracy  is  not 
claimed  for  the  accompanying  map.  The  portion  this  side 
Echo  river  corresponds  with  the  recent  survey  made  by 
Mr.  Erancis  Klett,  conducted  independently  of  all  previous 
ones,  and  with  the  advantage  of  a  long  experience  in  the 
United  States  Geographical  Survey.  Yet  he  only  claims 
for  it  an  approximation  to  correctness,  and  that  not  in  de- 
tail but  in  the  general  courses.  The  part  beyond  the  rivers 
is  modified  from  older  surveys,  with  the  assistance  of  my 
artist,  Mr.  J.  Barton  Smith,  and  may  serve  as  an  aid  to 
the  memory,  if  nothing  more.  It  is  not  attempted  to  in- 
clude all  the  223  avenues  that  are  said  to  have  been  ex- 
plored,* and  many  of  which  are  never  entered  by  visitors. 

*"The  known  avenues  of  Mammoth  Cave  amount  to  223,  and  the 
united  length  of  the  whole  equals  ]  50  miles.  The  average  width  is  7 
yards,  and  the  height  the  same.  About  12,000,000  cubic  yards  of  cav- 
ernous space  have  here  been  excavated  by  calcareous  waters  and  at- 
mospheric vicissitudes."  Owen's  Geological  Sv.rvey  of  Kentucky,  Vol.  I., 
page  81. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Location  and  Geolofrioal  Relations — "White's  Cave — Salt  Cave — Short 
niKi  Long  Caves — Mummies  and  Sandals— Gigantic  Fossil  Remains — 
Maniinotli  Cave  without  a  Rival  — Where  it  is,  and  How  to  get  there — 
A  Charming  llesort— Hotel  evolved  from  the  Log  Cabin — The 
Outfit — Necessary  Regulations — Entrance  to  Mammoth  Cave — Green 
]{ivpr — Dixon's  Cave — A  Noble  Vestibule — The  Iron  Gate — Blowing 
Caves — A  Changeless  Realm. 

TiiE  cavernous  limestone  of  Kentucky  covers  an  area 
of  8,U0U  square  miles,  and  varies  in  thickness  from  10  feet 
to  300  or  400,  the  average,  perhaps,  being  about  175  feet. 
This  rock  shows  few  traces  of  dynamic  disturbance,  but 
has  been  carved  by  acidulated  water,  since  the  Miocene 
epoch",  into  numberless  caverns. 

The  absence  of  running  streams  is  one  of  the  striking 
features  of  the  region,  explained  by  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  the  rivulets  have  long  ago  eaten  their  way  through  to 
the  drainage  level,  and  re-appear  as  large  springs  feeding 
rivers  of  considerable  size.  It  is  said  that  one  may,  in 
certain  directions,  travel  fifty  miles  without  crossing  run- 
ning water.  The  voyager  along  such  rivers  as  exist,  will 
observe,  at  intervals,  arches  in  the  bluffs,  whence  the 
waters  of  subterranean  streams  emerge;  and  should  he 
ex}ilore  these  openings,  lie  would  find  them  the  entrances 
to  caverns  ascending  by  tiers  toward  the  general  surface 
of  the  country.  And  were  he  to  make  his  way  from  stage 
to  stage — a  thing  not  often  possible — he  would  at  length 
come  out  into  a  vallc}'  shai»ed  like  an  inverted  cone,  along 
whose  sides  grow  bushes  and  trees,  usually  matted  into  a 
dense  thicket.  These  valleys  are  called  "  sink-holes,"  and 
they  serve  to  drain  the  surface  around  them.  These  sink- 
holes are  said  to  average.  lOU  to  the  square  mile;  and,  ac- 


Mammoth  Cave,  13 

cording  to  Shaler,  the  State  Geologist,  "  there  are  at  least 
100,000  miles  of  open  caverns  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
carboniferous  limestone  in  Kentucky." 

It  is  said  that  there  are  live  liundred  known  caves  and 
grottoes  in  Edmondson  county  besides  Mammoth  Cave,  the 
noblest  specimen  of  them  all.  Several  of  these  have 
gained  a  measure  of  local  celebrity,  but  only  a  few  of 
them  need  be  mentioned  here. 

Salt  Cave,  near  to  the  Mammoth  Cave,  and  belonging 
to  the  same  proprietors  rivals  it  in  the  magnitude  of  some 
of  its  avenues,  for  the  exploration  of  which  about  twelve 
hours  are  needed.  It  is  difficult  of  access,  however,  on 
account  of  the  loose  and  jagged  rocks  that  have  fallen 
from  the  roof;  and  being  a  dry  cave,  without  any  spring 
or  pool,  water  for  the  trip  must  be  carried  in  canteens. 
Its  especial  attraction  is  for  the  archaeologist,  as  it  abounds 
in  relics  of  prehistoric  occupancy,  such  as  hre-places, 
torches,  piles  of  faggots,  cast  off  sandals,  and  numerous 
other  things  described  more  fully  elsewhere. 

Short  Cave,  noted  for  the  mummies  found  in  it,  in  1813, 
that  were  afterwards  transferred  to  Mammoth  Cave  ;  Long 
Cave,  rich  in  niter  beds  ;  Proctor's  Cave,  the  Diamond 
Cave,  and  others  in  the  vicinity  have  their  admirers.  But 
the  general  feeling  was  well  expressed  by  one  of  the  na- 
tives who  said  to  me,  that  "  to  go  from  any  other  cave  to 
Mammoth  Cave,  was  like  going  from  a  log-cabin  to  a 
palace." 

More  particular  mention,  however,  should  be  made  of 
the  White  Cave,  about  half  a  mile  from  Mammoth  Cave, 
of  which  it  is  thought  really  to  be  an  arm.  The  exact 
point  of  communication  has  not  yet  been  found,  but  is 
supposed  to  be  with  the  extremity  of  either  the  Little  Bat 
Room,  or  of  Audubon  Avenue.  It  is  well  worth  visiting 
both  on  account  of  the  beauty  and  variety  of  its  stalac- 
tites, and  for  its  interesting  paleontological  contents.  Pass- 
ing through  an  iron  gate,  we  first  enter  an  oval  chamber, 
irregular  in  contour,  with  a  low  roof  and  a  muddy  floor. 
In  a  second  room  we  find  a  fine  piece  of  stalactitic  drapery 
called   the  "  Frozen    Cascade  ; "  the  roof  is  decked  with 


14  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

]>t'iult'nts  of  all  sizes  ;  aiid  tlio  tioor  is  cut  by  very  crooked 
fliaiuiols,  tlie  rilU  in  whicli  ai'c  so  transparent  as  to  be  al- 
most invisible,  lluniboldt's  I'illar  is  a  stately  shaft  of 
alabaster.  In  a  tli.inl  and  lai'L'"er  room  huge  masses  of 
limestone  have  fallen,  around  \vbieh  luiture  has  kindly- 
drawn  curtains  of  alabaster,  rudely  broken  through  here 
and  tbere  by  exjilorers  trying  to  force  their  way  to  regions 
beyond.  ITisboji's  T)oine  is  the  farthest  point  yet 
reaehed,  a  deeji  i)it  with  ornate  walls,  into  whose  dejtths 
Eddie  Ijishop,  for  whom  it  is  named,  alone  has  thus  far 
descended. 

Some  seventy  years  ago,  a  certain  Mr.  Clifford,  a  Ken- 
tuckian,  exhumed  from  the  floor  of  the  White  Cave  a  num- 
ber of  huge  fossil  bones,  that,  after  passing  through  various 
hands,  finally  came  into  tlie  possession  of  the  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences  at  Philadelphia.  These  curious  bones, 
as  described  by  Dr.  Kichard  Harlan,  were  relics  of  the 
megalonyx,  the  bear,  bison,  and  stag.  With  them,  but  of 
a  presumably  later  time,  were  found  a  few  human  bones. 
These  remains  seemed  to  belong  to  the  same  era  as  those 
found  in  the  Big  Bone  lick.  "Strictly  speaking,"  ob- 
serves Dr.  Ilarlan,  "  these  bones  were  not  fossilized  ;  they 
retain  a  XQvy  considerable  quantity  of  animal  matter,  but 
are  more  brittle  and  are  lighter  than  recent  bones  ;  most 
of  the  articulating  surfaces  are  still  more  or  less  covered 
with  cartilaice.  The  bones  are  mostly  of  a  yellow  ocherous 
color,  and  it  is  stated  they  were  found  on  the  surface  of 
the  floor  of  the  cave."  The  entrance  to  the  White  Cave 
dips  below  the  horizon,  and  was  originally  so  small  as  to 
admit  of  the  ingress  of  but  one  person  at  a  time.  My 
theory  is  that  the  animals  whose  bones  were  here  found 
must  have  fallen  through  a  sink-hole  near  by. 

The  location  of  ^fammoth  Cave  is  exactly  37°  14'  X. 
latitude,  and  80^  VI'  W.  longitude.  It  is  easily  reached 
by  trains  on  tlie  Louisville  and  Xashvillo  Tiailroad,  passen- 
gers being  transferred  at  tlie  Glasgow  Junction  to  the 
Mammoth  Cave  Railroad   runniuir  to  the  niarsriu  of  the 


Mammoth  Cave.  15 

park  in  front  of  the  hotel ;  a  decicled  improvement  on  the 
okl  line  of  coaches  that  used  to  wind  in  and  out  among' 
the  sink-holes. 

The  hotel  register  shows  an  aggregate  of  from  4,000  to 
6,000  visiters  a  year.  Many  of  these  come  from  the  North, 
and  a  few  from  various  parts  of  Europe,  drawn  by  their 
curiosity  to  behold  this  far-famed  locality.  The  majority, 
however,  are  from  Louisville,  I^ashville,  Memphis,  Kew 
Orleans,  and  other  cities  of  the  Sunny  South  ;  and  he  who 
wishes  to  meet  the  best  types  of  southern  society,  will  be 
sure  of  finding  them  here. 

The  spot  is  a  charming  resort,  aside  from  its  peculiar 
attraction — the  cave.  The  region  around  it  is  a  hunter's 
j)aradise,  in  which  quail  and  grouse  abound,  and  not  a  few 
wild  turkeys  and  deer.  The  grounds  have  been  laid  out 
Avith  taste,  ornamental  shrubbery  being  interspersed  among 
ancient  oaks,  over-shadowing  a  well-kept  lawn.  Exten- 
sive gardens  supply  the  hotel  with  fresh  vegetables  of 
every  kind,  and  the  table  is  furnished  amply  with  whatever 
the  season  and  the  market  may  afford. 

The  hotel  itself  is  an  architectural  curiosity.  The  origi- 
nal cabin,  built  by  the  miners  in  1812,  still  stands  and  is 
used  as  a  wash-house.  Next  came  a  more  stylish  log-house 
with  a  wide  hall  between  two  large  rooms.  As  visitors 
multiplied  the  cabins  also  multiplied,  until  they  stood  in  a 
long  row.  These  isolated  structures  were,  at  a  later  day, 
connected  with  each  other  and  weather-boarded,  the  halls 
and  rooms  remaining  unchanged.  Then  a  spacious  frame- 
house  was  erected  in  front,  with  offices,  parlors,  ball-room, 
and  other  appointments  in  modern  style.  Finally  wide 
verandas  were  added,  having  about  600  feet  of  covered 
portico.  The  structure  thus  evolved  from  a  log-cabin 
germ,  is  shaped  like  the  letter  L,  and  a  more  airy,  delight- 
ful place  can  not  be  found  in  the  State  of  Kentucky! 
Loitering  amid  the  long  colonnade,  on  the  evening  of  our 
first  arrival,  we  looked  out  between  the  tall  white  pillars, 
and  the  night-air  floating  through  the  noble  grove  of  aged 
oaks  and  across  the  blue-grass  lawn,  seemed  redolent  of 


16  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

ronmntic  associations.  IIow  many  thousands  of  tourists, 
savants,  and  lov(>rs  liavc  liere  strolled  in  the  moonlight! 
At  11  r.  M.  tiu-  Itand  left  the  ball-room  for  the  veranda, 
and,  according  to  their  custom,  gave  tlie  signal  for  retiring 
liy  i»laying  "Home,  sweet  liome;"  and  the  next  morning, 
at  six,  the  same  musicians  awoke  us  b}'  playing  "  Dixie  " — 
that  tune  dear  to  every  Southern  heart! 

The  convenience  of  visitors  is  consulted  by  the  establish- 
ment of  two  i)rincipal  lines  of  cave  exploration,  designated 
as  the  Long  Route  and  the  Short  Route  the  fees  for  which 
are,  respectively,  three  and  two  dollars,  including  the 
services  of  a  competent  guide,  with  lamps,  fire-works,  and 
all  essentials.  Special  terms  are  made  for  tourists 
wishing  to  make  a  leisurely  exploration,  and  also  for  large 
l)arties.  Facilities  arc  likewise  furnished,  if  desired,  for 
visiting  "White's  Cave,  and  other  caves  in  the  vicinity. 

It  should  be  added,  to  correct  an  erroneous  impression, 
that  while  guarding  their  property  rights,  the  management 
of  the  cave  has  always  encouraged  scientific  investigation. 
Xo  restraints  were  laid  on  the  members  of  the  American 
Association,  when  they  visited  it,  at  the  close  of  the  Cincin- 
nati meeting,  except  those  heartily  approved  of  by  them- 
selves. And  I  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  ap- 
preciation of  the  aid  given  me  by  the  present  and  the  former 
manager,  and  of  the  faithful  assistance  rendered  by  the 
guides  in  my  explorations. 

Regular  hours  are  fixed  for  entering  the  cave,  and 
all  needed  attentions  are  paid  to  the  general  conven- 
ience of  the  guest.  At  the  lamp-cabin,  as  the  hour  ap- 
proaehfs,  the  guides  may  be  seen  trimming  their  lamps, 
and  prej-aring  the  outfit  of  the  visitors  whom  they  are  to 
escort.  The  lanij)  used  is  a  simple  aflair  for  burning  lard- 
oil,  and  swings  from  four  wires  twisted  into  a  handle,  with 
a  tin  shit'ld  to  protect  the  hand.  Each  visitor  is  expected 
to  carry  one  of  these  lights,  but  it  is  not  given  to  him  till 
he  enters  the  cave. 

The  guide's  appearance  is  unique  as  he  stands  ready  for 
duty.     Xo    uniform    is  worn,  but  each,   white  or    black, 


Mamynoth  Cave. 


17 


dresses  according  to  his  own  taste.  The  bunch  of  lamps, 
sometimes  strung  on  a  stick  if  there  are  many  of  them ; 
the  flask  of  oil  swung  by  the  side;  the  oddly-shaped  bas- 
ket carried  on  the  other  side,  containing  an  assortment  of 
chemicals  for  illuminating  the  larger  rooms,  together  with 
any  thing  else  that  may  be  needed — makes  a  queer  tout  en- 
semble. 

At  the  ringing  of  a  large  bell  the  party  to  go  in  on  that 
trip  gather  in  the  garden,  clad  in  any  dress  that  suits  the 
wearer ;  the  ladies  often  donning  a  gymnastic  dress 
trimmed,  perhaps,  with  spangles  and  tiny  bells ;  while 
easy  shoes,  close-fitting  caps,  and  a  comfortable  temper  are 
desirable  for  all. 


Matt.,  the  Guide — Mammoth  Cave. 

The  entrance  to  Mammoth  Cave  is  reached  by  a  shady 
path  down  a  wild  ravine,  and  is  about  300  yards  from  the 
hotel  on  the  bluff.  Another  hotel  stood,  formerly,  in  front 
of  the  entrance,  but  it  was  burned  about  fifteen  years  ago, 
and  the  scorched  trees  carry  the  scars  of  the  fire.     A  plat- 


Ig  Ct((}n-(ttt(l  American   Caverns. 

loi'iii  has  Ik'oh  k'vi'l»'<l  oil"  ;ni(I  furnished  witli  rustic  seats^ 
wiiiTt",  oil  the  liottest  (lays  of  mid-sumuier,  one  may  enjoy 
n'tVcsliiiiir  coolness.  It  is  118  feet  below  the  summit  of 
tlic  liliiir.  and  11'4  feet  ahove  the  level  of  Green  river, 
Avhich  Hows  alona:  at  tlie  distance  of  about  half  a  mile,  and 
furnishes  excellent  boating  and  tishing  for  those  wlio  are 
fond  of  su<  h  s]»ort.  The  waters  of  this  stream  are  remark- 
able for  issuing  nniinly  from  caves;  for  which  reason  they 
are  never  frozen,  even  in  the  coldest  winters,  and  arc  a 
refuge  for  steamboats  and  other  craft,  when  the  Ohio  is 
oVistructed  l>y  ice. 

The  air,  as  well  as  the  water,  of  the  cave  is  of  uniform 
temperature  the  year  round.  The  mercury  in  the  set  of 
Smithsonian  thermometers  kept  at  the  hotel,  may  have 
indicated  100°  when  you  began  your  walk  down  into  this 
shady  dell,  but  at  the  cave's  mouth  it  falls  to  GG°  at  noon, 
and  65°  at  night,  with  very  little  regard  to  what  kind  of 
weather  the  rest  of  the  world  is  having.  Stand  on  this 
bench  of  stone  and  lift  your  hand  above  your  head,  and 
there  you  will  find  the  fervid  heat  again.  The  current  of 
cold  air  may  be  traced  for  a  long  distance  before  it  min- 
gles with  the  mass  of  common  atmosphere.  Within  the 
cave,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  observe,  the  temperature 
is  several  degrees  lower  than  at  the  mouth. 

As  I  have  already  remarked,  the  ancient  outlet  of  the 
subterranean  region  before  us  was  through  what  is  now 
known  as  Dixon's  Cave.  A  small  opening  on  our  left  as 
we  stand  fai-ing  the  present  entrance,  points  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Dixon's  Cave,  but  the  guides  say  there  is  no  open- 
ing through,  although  persons  in  one  cave  can  make  them- 
selves heard  in  the  other,  as  was  proved  by  the  miners  in 
1812,  whose  i>icks  could  be  heard  as  stated.  * 

Mammoth  Cave  has  a  noble  vestibule !  Amid  tulip 
trees  and  grape-vines,  maples  and  butternuts,  fringing 
ferns  and  green  mosses,  is  the  gate-way  to  this  under- 
ground palace.  The  fingers  of  a  rippling  rill  pried  the 
•rocks  apart,  i»erhaps  ages  ago,  and  when  the  roof  fell  in, 
thia  chasm  that  we  see  remained.  The  rill  still  runs,  and 
from  a  frowning  ledge  above  it  leaps  fifty  feet  to  the  rocks. 


Marmnoth  Cave,  19 

TbeJDvv,  ^vhere  it  instantly  disappears  as  if  its  work  were 
done.  The  aroli  has  a  span  of  seventy  feet,  and  a  winding 
flight  of  seventy  stone  steps  condncts  ns  around  the  lovely 
cascade,  into  a  roomy  ante-chamber  under  the  massive 
rocks. 

The  prevailing  coolness  and  uniformity  of  temperature 
led  the  late  Dr.  Croghan  to  excavate  a  deep  hollow  here  to 
serve  as  an  ice-house. 

The  passage-way  suddenly  grows  very  narrow,  at  a  point 
about  300  feet  within,  and  here  there  is  an  iron  gate  made 
of  rude  bars  crossing  each  other.  This  was  built  by  Capt. 
"W.  S.  Miller,  in  1874,  as  a  safeguard  against  secret  sur- 
veys, spoliation,  and  the  escape  of  fugitives  from  justice. 
Each  guide  carries  a  key,  and  the  gate  is  unlocked  and 
locked  again  for  every  party  that  rnay  enter. 

The  current  of  air  that  had  already  been  quite  noticea- 
ble, increases  to  a  gale  as  we  cross  the  portal,  so  strong 
indeed  that  our  lamps  are  blown  out.  This  phenomenon  is 
due  to  several  causes  operating  together.  The  most  ob- 
vious one  is  the  difference  of  temperature  between  the  air 
within  and  that  without.  During  most  of  the  year  in  this 
bland  climate  the  outside  air  is  warmer  than  that  of  the 
cave,  and  therefore  the  current  is  outward.  But  when  it 
is  otherwise,  the  current  is  reversed  and  blows  into  the 
cave.  It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  the  existence  of  some 
lower  opening  as  a  cause  for  a  ventilating  current;  yet,  if 
there  are  such  openings,  they  may  help  to  keep  the  air  in 
motion. 

Prof.  Silliman,  who  visited  the  cave  in  1852,  offered  still 
another  explanation.  Regarding  the  mouth  of  the  cave 
as  the  only  communication  between  the  external  air  and 
the  vast  labyrinth  of  galleries  stretching  away  for  miles  in 
the  limestone,  he  accounts  for  the  purity  of  the  air  on 
chemical  principles.  Calling  attention  to  the  incredibly 
extensive  niter  beds,  he  says:  "The  nitrogen  consumed 
in  the  formation  of  the  nitrate  of  lime  must  have  its  pro- 
portion of  free  oxygen  disengaged,  thus  enriching  this 
subterraneous  atmosphere  with  a  larger  portion  of  the  ex- 
hilarating element."     The  result  would  be  that  the  cave- 


lid  Celebrated  Amerlean   Caverns. 

air,  Ix'iiiL'"  l)otli  more  |iiiri'  and  more  dense  tliaii  that  out- 
side, would  cxpiind  and  How  outward  whenever  pressure 
was  lifted  1)V  a  rise  of  tem])Oi-atnre  al)0\'e  its  own,  which 
I'cniains  constant . 

'flic  word  for  cavi'.  l)otli  in  Latin  and  Greek,  signifies 
'•a  /)r(til/>iii(/-j>/(ic( ."  as  if  tliese  places  were  the  mighty 
lungs  of  Mother  Kartlu  through  whicli  she  iuliales  and 
I'xhales  the  \ital  air.  The  classic  fahle  of  ^olus  also 
comes  to  mind,  in  which  the  god  of  storms  is  represented 
as  confining  all  the  winds  iu  a  vast  cavern,  where  he  has 
liis  thi-one.^- 

The  current  of  air  dies  down,  as  we  advance,  and  only 
a  iew  yards  hcyond  the  Iron  Gate  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
relighting  our  lamps.  Here  we  catch  the  last  ghmpse  of 
dayliglit  shining  in  through  the  entrance,  and  all  that  lies 
bevond  us  is  in  absolute  darkness,  A  strana^e  sensation  is 
usually  felt  by  the  visitor  at  this  point,  and  occasionally 
one  is  found  who  shrinks  back  from  the  journey  he  has 
undertaken.  The  story  is  told  of  a  Scotchman  who  had 
come  to  America  as  a  tourist,  led  to  do  so  by  the  hope  of 
seeing  the  great  cave,  as  a  special  object  of  attraction  ;  but, 
■when  he  readied  this  spot,  and  found  to  his  surprise  that 
it  was  dark  in  the  cavern,  he  positively  refused  to  enter  I 

Most  visitors,  however,  find  a  certain  romantic  charm 
on  entering  these  regions  of  perpetual  silence,  where  the 
pleasing  alternation  of  day  and  night  is  unknown,  as  is 
also  the  change  of  the  seasons,  summer  and  winter  being 
alike,  and  vernal  and  autumnal  airs  the  same.     "Whatever 

*  There  are  many  "  blowing  caverns  "  in  existence,  and  in  some  of 
them  tlie  bhist  is  marvelous  and  inexplicable.  I  find  the  following 
.statement  in  Johnson's  Physical  Cieography,  though  I  do  not  vouch 
for  its  correctness:  "From  a  blowing  cave  in  the  Alleghany  moun' 
tains,  lOn  feet  in  diameter,  the  current  of  air  is  so  strong  as  to  keep 
the  weeds  prostrate  to  the  distance  of  sixty  feet  from  its  mouth.  But 
the  most  extraordinary  example  is  the  great  cave  of  Ouybe,  of  un- 
known extent,  in  central  Asia.  The  tempests  that  rush  from  it  are 
sometimes  so  violent  as  to  carry  off  every  thing  on  the  road  into  an 
adjoining  lake!  The  wind  coining  from  the  interior  of  the  earth  is 
said  to  be  warm  in  winter,  and  so  dangerous  that  caravans  often  stop 
for  a  whole  week  till  tlie  tempests  have  subsided!  " 


Mammoth  Cave.  21 

tremendous  energies  may  once  have  hurled  the  loose  rocks 
to  the  floor  that  now  lie  scattered  ai'ound,  no  convulsion 
has  disturbed  the  strata  forages,  and  there  is  no  safer  place 
above  ground  than  is  here  below.  The  loudest  thunder- 
storm may  roll  jtcross  the  heavens,  but  its  din  does  not  in- 
vade the  profound  quiet  of  theae  deep  vaults. 


OULOPHOLITES,    OR   CiTRVED   CRYSTALS   OV   GtPSTTM. 


CHAPTER  111. 

The  Main  Cave— The  Narrows— Saltpeter  "Works— "Rotunda— Audu. 
bon's  Avenue— Bat  Kooms — Skeletons — Temperature  of  Mammoth 
Cave — Kentucky  Cliffs — Methodist  Church — A  Subterranean  Sermon 
— Standing  Rocks — Grand  Arch — Water-clock — Wandering  Willie'a 
Spring — Grotesque  Fancies — Giant's  Coffin — Acute  Angle — Rude 
Monvunents — Stone  Cottages — A  Strange  Sanitarium — Star  Chamber 
— A  pleasing  Incident — Salts  Room — Proctor's  Arcade — Kinney's 
Arena- Wright's  Rotunda — Black  Chambers — Cataracts — Solitary 
Chambers — Fairy  Grotto — Chief  City — St.  Catherine's  City — End  of 
Main  Cave. 

Whatever  route  one  takes,  "he  must  traverse  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  distance,  what  is  fitly  designated  as  the  Main 
Cave,  hecanse  it  is  like  a  great  trunk,  from  which  the 
avenues  seem  to  branch.  I  shall,  therefore,  dcA^ote  this 
chayiter  to  its  description,  together  with  some  of  the  les? 
frequented  places  not  now  included  in  any  regular  route. 

For  perhaps  fifty  yards,  after  leaving  the  Iron  Gate,  th(^ 
way  lies  under  a  low  ceiling,  and  is  walled  in  hv  fragments 
of  rock  piled  up  hy  the  miners.  Beyond  the  Xarrows,  as 
this  passage  is  called,  and  where  the  way  grows  wider, 
there  is  a  well-marked  cart-road,  and  places  where  the 
oxen  were  tied  up  to  be  fed,  corn-cobs  also  lying  scattered 
around.  The  carts  could  not  have  been  driven  in  through 
the  Narrows,  but  were  brought  in  piecemeal  and  put  to-' 
gcther  again  inside.  The  oxen,  likewise,  were  unyoked 
and  led  in  singly.  Wooden  pipes  are  laid  in  the  earthen 
floor,  each  being  al>ont  20  feet  long  and  10  inches  in  di- 
ameter, bored  lengthwise  and  joined  together  by  iron 
Ijand.s,  Such  of  them  as  were  for  convevino-  water  into 
the  cave  are  decayed  liadly,  Avhile  those  used  to  conduct 
the  alkali  out  to  tlic  l)oiler»  are  in   excellent  preservation. 


3fammoth  Cave.  23 

Suddenly  the  roof  lifts  above  our  heads,  and  we  are  in 
the  Rotunda,  located,  it  is  said,  directly  under  the  dining- 
roon>  of  the  hotel.  On  our  right  are  three  huge  vats, 
built  of  oak  plank,  and  partly  full  of  nitrous  earth.  The 
tall  frame  that  once  held  the  pump  is  now  made  useful  for 
holding  any  superfluous  wraps  we  may  feel  like  leaving — 
for  it  is  not  well  to  be  too  warmly  clad. 
\f  The  area  around  us,  including  about  half  an  acre,  is  rug- 
ged with  heaps  of  rubbish  that  might  have  been  leveled 
long  ago,  had  it  not  been  for  their  flavor  of  antiquity,  and 
the  guide's  satisfaction  in  telling  visitors  that  "  these  piles 
of  lixiviated  earth  are  monuments  of  the  War  of  1812 ! " 

Looking  aloft,  we  are  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  room  we  have  entered,  but,  when  we  come 
to  figures  we  miss  the  accustomed  objects  of  comparison. 

"  Guess  how  wide  this  chamber  is  ! "  says  the  guide. 

One  thinks  it  can  not  be  less  than  150  feet ;  another  says 
200  or  250 ;  and  yet  another  is  sure  it  is  fully  300  feet. 

"  Guess  how  high  it  is  !  " 

We  look  up  to  the  dim  ceiling  and  estimates  vary  again. 
To  one  it  seems  50,  to  another  80,  to  a  third,  100  feet  high. 

The  lack  of  charity  shown  for  errors  in  guesswork  is 
sometimes  very  amusing  to  one  who  has  used  the  tape- 
line  in  underground  surveys,  and  knows  how  easy  it  is  to 
be  deceived  in  mere  estimates  of  distances.  The  atmos- 
phere of  the  cave  is  optically  pure ;  i.  e.  no  motes  nor  dust 
floats  in  it,  and  therefore  the  rays  of  light  are  not  distrib- 
uted as  in  ordinary  air;  while  at  the  same  time,  as  it  is 
also  chemically  pure,  the  lamps  burn  very  brightly.  This 
combination  of  causes  leads  to  a  confusion  of  ideas  as  to 
the  nearness  or  remoteness  of  objects. 

Apply  the  tape-line  to  those  two  arches  that  open  out 
from  the  Rotunda.  One  is  found  to  have  a  span  of  46,  and 
the  other  of  70  feet!  Our  path  lies  through  the  latter, 
but  let  us  make  a  brief  digression  into  the  other  that 
trends  away  to  the  right. 

This  is  Audubon's  Avenue,  so  named  in  honor  of  the 
famous  naturalist.  It  used  to  be  called  Big  Bat  Room, 
and  the  branch  from  it,  running  to  Crevice  Pit,  was  called 


•j4  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

Littlo  Bat  Ixooiii — ;i  titlt-  that  clings  to  it  vet.  Here  myr- 
iads  of  bats  taki;  iij)  tlicir  winter  (jiiarters,  congregating 
tor  the  purposo  from  all  the  region  around.  Deposits  of 
))at-guano  abound,  and  this  is  supposed  to  be  connected 
with  the  quantities  of  nitrous  earth,  which  is  richest  here. 
Not  a  stone  in  these  two  rooms  but  what  has  l)cen  upturned 
for  *'peter-dirt;"  and  one  can  not  refrain  from  admiring 
the  energy  and  diligence  of  those  old-time  miners.  Au- 
dubon's Avenue,  as  measured  by  me,  is  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  long,  to  where  it  ends  in  a  group  of  stalactites.  It 
is  seldom  visited. 

The  miners  are  said  to  have  exhumed  two  skeletons,  in 
1811,  in  the  Rotunda,  at  the  entrance  to  Audubon's  Ave- 
nue: one,  that  of  a  child;  the  other  of  a  giant  seven  or 
eight  feet  in  height!  Mr.  Gorin,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  For- 
wood,  states  positively,  that  "  no  mummies  were  ever  found 
in  Mammoth  Cave;  and  that  no  bones,  either  human  or 
of  the  lower  animals,  except  the  two  skeletons  already 
spoken  of,  were  ever  found  therein." 

Before  proceeding  further,  it  may  be  as  well  to  speak  of 
the  temperature  of  Mammoth  Cave.  It  has  been  roughly 
estimated  that  twelve  million  cubic  yards  of  limestone 
have  been  displaced  by  this  immense  excavation ;  and 
the  importance  occurred  to  me  of  ascertaining  exadbj 
the  temperature  of  such  a  body  of  subterraneous  air. 
On  inquiry  I  learned  that  this  had  never  been  accurately 
done. 

Hence  I  made  a  series  of  observations  in  1878,  that  sat- 
isfied me  of  the  need  of  still  more  careful  work.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1881,  armed  with  two  standard  thermometers, 
one  a  Casella  from  the  Kcw  Observatory,  England,  and 
the  other  a  Green  from  "Winchester  Observatory  at  ISTcw 
Haven,  Conn.,  I  took  a  number  of  observations  with  the 
utmost  care.  Among  my  conclusions  were  the  following : 
That  the  highest  degree  reached  at  any  time  in  any  part 
of  iNIammothCave  is  56°  Fah.;  and  the  lowest  52|°  Fah. : 
the  mean  for  summer  being  54°,  and  for  winter,  53°.  The 
latter  is  probably  the  true  temperature  of  the  earth's  crust 
in  the  region  where  this  cave  i  ^  located. 


Mammoth  Cave.  25 

The  above  conclusions  are  confirmed  by  the  readings  of 
an  ordinary  thermometer  placed  by  Mr.  Klett  in  the  Ro- 
tunda and  left  there  till  it  was,  so  to  speak,  acclimated. 
This  gentleman  reports,  as  the  result  of  almost  daily  in- 
spection by  himself  or  the  guides,  that  during  the  period 
of  six  months,  the  mercury  did  not  rise  above  54°  nor  fall 
below  53°  Fall.,  the  fair  inference  being,  that  there  was 
not,  at  any  time,  a  variation  of  more  than  one  degree  \'^ 

At  a  point  some  distance  beyond  the  Rotunda,  and  ex- 
actly half  a  mile  by  my  pedometer,  from  the  top  of  the 
hill,  the  guide  calls  our  attention  to  a  shelf  of  rock  on  the 
left,  and  informs  us  that  there  is  the  entrance  to  "  The 
Corkscrew."  This  is  a  short-cut  by  which  visitors,  on  re- 
turning from  the  Long  Route,  save  themselves  a  mile  or 
two  of  traveling. 

Advancing  in  the  Main  Cave,  we  pass  under  over-hang- 
ing ledges  called  the  Kentucky  Cliffs,  and  about  four  feet 
from  the  floor  we  examine  a  cluster  of  little  openings,  like 
pigeon-boxes,  that  show  the  peculiar  action  of  the  water 
by  which  they  were  eaten  out. 

"We  next  come  to  the  Methodist  Church,  about  eighty 
feet  in  diameter  and  forty  feet  high,  where  those  ancient 

*As  this  is  a  matter  that  has  been  under  dispute,  former  observations 
by  scientific  observers  having  agreed  on  59^  Fah.  as  the  correct  temper- 
ature, I  give  below  a  tabh^  of  my  main  observations,  which  were  most 
carefully  made  with  practically  perfect  instruments,  on  the  13th,  and 
15th  days  of  August,  1881 : 

At  the  hotel  on  the  hill  the  mercury  indicated 92  deg.  Fah. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  cave  (at  noon) 65K  "  '" 

*'  "  "        (7P.M.) 60      " 

At  the  Iron  Gate,  100  yards  within,  where  tlie  current  is  strongest b2}i  "  " 

In  the  Rotunda  ( 1.000  yards  within) 53      "  " 

In  Audubon's  Avenue 54      "  " 

In  Little  Bat  Avenue 54      "  " 

In  the  Gothic  Avenue  (oldest  and  driest  portion) 56      "  '' 

In  Richardson's  Spring  (in  the  water) 54      "  '• 

In  the  Arched  Way 5i.}i  "  ■' 

At  the  Bottomless  Pit  (top) 54      "  "' 

"  "         (midway) 50      •'  " 

,'  •'        (at  the  bottom) 53      "  " 

In  the  Mammoth  Dome  (top,  230  feet  above  bottom) 54      "  " 

"  "        (midway; 53>i  •'  " 

"        (bottom) 53      "  ■' 

At  the  Echo  River  (in  the  water) 55      "  " 

"  "    (in  the  air) 56      "  " 

•'  "    (where  it  empties  in  Green  River) 53      "  '' 


2G  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

inincrs  used  to  lioartlio  Gospel  preached  l»y  itinerant  min- 
isters, wlio  souglit  their  welfare.  The  logs  that  served  for 
henches  are  still  in  jiosition,  and  many  a  sermon  has  been 
delivered  from  the  rocky  pulpit  since  the  days  of  the  pio- 
ni'i-r  worshipers.  The  Avriter  can  not  soon  forget  a  re- 
lifious  service  he  liad  the  privilege  of  attending  in  this 
natural  temple,  one  summer  Sabbath.  The  band  did  duty, 
as  orchestra,  the  guests  and  guides  were  seated  around  the 
pulpit  in  decorous  order,  the  servants  from  the  hotel  were 
a  little  in  the  back-ground,  the  walls  were  hung  with  a 
hundred  hun}>s,  and  the  scene  itself  was  beautiful.  Then 
the  ii>alm  arose,  led  by  the  instruments,  and  waves  of  har- 
mony rolled  through  those  rocky  arches  till  they  died 
away  in  distant  corridors.  The  text  from  which  the  cler- 
gyman, himself  a  visitor,  wove  his  discourse  was  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  place  and  the  occasion  :  John  xiv :  5,  '■'•How 
can  we  know  the  ivai/?"" 

For  the  next  150  yards  the  old  cart  ruts  run  between 
mountainous  heaps  of  "lixiviated  earth,"  and  the  hoof- 
prints  of  the  oxen  remain  as  if  they  had  lately  drawn  loads 
to  the  hoppers.  Here  are  more  ruins  of  niter-works,  eight 
liuge  vats,  lines  of  wooden  pipes,  pump-frames,  and  other 
signs  of  former  activity.  "What  a  busy  set  those  old  fel- 
lows must  have  been  !  One  can  almost  credit  their  boast 
that  they  could  dig  saltpeter  enough  from  Mammoth  Cave 
to  supply  the  whole  world. 

Leaving,  for  the  present,  the  Gothic  Galleries,  where 
these  ruins  lie,  we  pursue  our  w^ay  under  the  Grand  Arch, 
about  sixty  feet  wide  and  fifty  high,  and  extending  for 
many  hundred  feet.  On  our  left  are  the  Standing  Rocks, 
four  in  number,  thirty  feet  long,  and  Aveighing  may  be 
twenty  tons  apiece.  What  a  shaking  there  must  have 
been  when  they  fell  from  the  h>fty  arch  above  and  buried 
themselves  in  this  upright  position  in  the  earthen  floor! 

New  objects  of  interest  meet  us  at  every  step,  as  we  ad- 
vance. During  a  moment's  pause  we  are  startled  by  what' 
seems  the  loud  ticking  of  a  musical  time-])icce.  It  is  but 
the  measured  melody  of  water  dripping  into  a  basin  hid- 
den behind,  the  rocks.     It  is  only  a  small  basin,  and  the 


llammoth   Cave.  27 

drops  fall  but  a  few  inches,  yet  such  are  the  acoustic 
effects  of  the  arch  that  they  can  be  heard  for  a  long  ways, 
as  they  monotonously  fall,  drop  by  drop,  just  as,  perhaps, 
they  have  fallen  for  a  thousand  years. 

Not  far  from  this  natural  water-clock,  is  a  symmetrical 
recess  chisled  by  a  tiny  rill,  whose  limpid  water  is  col- 
lected in  a  pool.  The  story  is  told  of  a  blind  boy  who 
rambled  over  the  country,  winning  a  precarious  living  by 
his  violin,  and  who,  as  he  said,  was  resolved  to  see  the  cave 
for  himself.  He  lost  his  way,  and  when  found  by  his 
companions,  was  quietly  sleeping  beside  this  basin,  which 
ever  since  has  been  called  "Wandering  Willie's  Spring." 

Singular  effects  are  produced  by  the  devices  of  the 
guides.  At  certain  spots  wonderful  shadow  profiles  are 
cast  by  the  projecting  buttresses.  One  long  admired  was 
that  of  George  Washington.  But  it  is  now  eclipsed  by 
what  is  styled  the  bust  of  Martha  Washington,  which 
really  is  a  magnificent  illusion.  The  guests  are  stationed 
under  the  Grand  Arch,  and  their  lamps  withdrawn.  Then 
at  a  place  550  yards  distant,  the  guide  burns  magnesium, 
he  himself  being  out  of  sight,  and  the  result  is  the  remark- 
able effect  described.  What  we  behold  seems  to  be  a 
sculptured  mass  of  Parian  marble  instead  of  simply  a  mass 
of  white  light  amid  the  rocks. 

The  incrustations  of  gypsum  stained  by  the  black  oxide 
of  manganese,  seem  to  cut  gigantic  silhouettes  from  the 
ceiling  of  creamy  limestone.  At  first  we  ridicule  these 
fancies,  but  at  last  they  fascinate  us.  Wild  cats,  buffaloes, 
monkeys  and  ant-eaters — indeed,  a  whole  menagerie  is  on 
exhibition,  including  the  old  mammoth  himself,  and  Bar- 
num's  fat  girl.  There  is  an  especially  fine  side-show  of  a 
giant  and  giantess  playfully  tossing  papooses  to  and  fro. 

It  is  well  to  observe  the  large  rock  on  our  right  very 
carefully,  not  only  for  the  interest  it  excites  by  its  singular 
resemblance  to  a  mighty  sarcophagus,  but  because  the 
Giant's  CoflBn,  as  it  is  called,  is  one  of  the  most  important 
land-marks  in  the  cave.  It  equals  in  size  one  of  the 
famous  blocks  of  Baalbek,  being  forty  feet  long,  twenty 
wide,  and  eight  or  more  deep.     Often  as  I  have  passed  it, 


2S 


Celebrated  Auifrlcan  Caccnis. 


whc'tluM-  alone  or  with  a  Imiidrod  coiii}»anions,  it  has  ever 
Itt'i'ii  with  a  fceliii^ii;  as  if  I  liad  intruded  into  some  sacred 
muusoh'nni.  Tliis  ponderous  roek  hides  behind  it  the 
ereviee  that,  until  recently,  was  the  only  know^i  way  of 
access  t(^  the  wonderful  region  of  pits,  domes  and  rivers, 
that  we  are  to  visit  another  day. 


The  Giant's  Coffin. 

At  a  point  100  yards  beyond  the  Giant's  Coffin,  the 
trend  of  the  Main  Cave  turns  upon  itself  at  an  acute  angle, 
on  tlio  left,  and  sweeps  around  in  a  magnificent  amphithe- 
ater on  the  right.  This  enchanting  place  should  not  be 
hastily  passed.  The  effect  of  fire-w^orks  here  is  remark- 
ably brilliant,  and  the  sublime  scene  thus  illumined  is  one 
to  1)0  remembered  long. 

The  apex  of  tiie  acute  angle  is  marked  by  McPherson's 
monument,  a  rude  pile  of  stones  in  memory  of  a  gallant 
soldier.  More  than  300  such  monuments  liave  been  erected 
in  (litTerent  portions  of  the  cave,  in  honor  of  various  indi- 
viduals, literary  institutions,  and  the  several  States  of  the 
Union.  Some  of  these  pillars  reaeh  from  floor  to  roof, 
each  tourist  who  chooses  to  do  so,  adding  a  stone.     An 


i 


Mammoth  Cave. 


29 


incidental  benefit  of  the  custom  is  that  it  has  helped  to 
clear  the  paths. 


-rSasr^v-  mm  mm 


.„,  '.i  ,     6»iiaii,;'iEai 

r.imim':  '-'    &S-R--J 

■MM'   ■  ■■"     •^•"-  •- 


A  Strange  Sanitarium. 

The  roofless  remains  of  two  stone  cottages  are  next  vis- 
ited, as  having  a  melancholy  interest  on  account  of  their 
history.  These,  and  ten  frame  ones,  now  torn  down,  were 
built  in  1843  for  the  use  of  fifteen  consumptive  patients, 
who  here  took  up  their  abode,  induced  to  do  so  by  the 
uniformity  of  the  temperature,  and  the  highly  oxygenated 
air  of  the  cave,  which  has  the  purity  without  the  rarity  oi 
the  air  at  high  altitudes.  The  second  stone  house  was  a 
dining-room ;  all  the  rest  were  lodging  rooms,  and  were 
well  furnished.  The  cottages  were  not  all  at  this  spot. 
One  was  about  100  yards  within  Audubon's  Avenue;  in 
which  a  Mr.  Mitchell,  from  South  Carolina,  lived  for  five 
months,  and  then  died.  He  was  buried  in  the  little  ceme- 
tery nearthe  cave,  and  his  body  was  afterward  taken  away. 
The  next  cottage  was  near  Wandering  Willie's  Spring. 
Still  another  was  erected  in  Pensico  Avenue.  All  the 
others,  nine  in  number,  stood  in  a  line,  about  30  feet 
apart,  extending   from   the   acute   angle   onward.      The 


30  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

experiment  was  jin  utter  failure  ;  as  was  also  tlie  piti- 
i"ul  attempt  on  tlie  i>ai-t  of  these  poor  invalids  to  make 
trees  and  slii-ul)bery  grow  around  their  dismal  huts.  The 
open  sunshine  is  as  essential  to  rosy  health  as  it  is  for 
green  leaves. 

The  salubrity  of  the  cave,  so  far  as  its  eliects  on  the 
spirits  and  health  of  visitors  are  concerned,  is  decidedly 
marked.  The  air  is  slightly  exhilarating,  and  sustains  one 
in  a  ramble  of  five  or  ten  hours,  so  that  at  its  end  he  is 
hardly  sensible  of  fatigue.  In  one  of  the  earliest  accounts 
of  the  cave,  published  in  1832,  it  is  said  that  "  the  niter 
diggers  were  a  fiimously  healthy  set  of  men  ; "  and  that, 
on  humanitarian  grounds,  it  was  customary  to  employ  la- 
borers who  were  in  feeble  health,  "  who  were  soon  restored 
to  good  health  and  strength,  though  kept  at  constant  la- 
bor ;  and  more  joyous,  merry  fellows  were  never  seen." 
It  certainly  is  noticeable  that  most  tourists,  whether  it  is 
due  to  the  delicious  air  or  some  other  happy  cause,  gen- 
erally mingle  a  jocund  feeling  with  the  awe  and  solemnity 
that  one  would  suppose  should  be  awakened  by  scenes  so 
sublime. 

A  strangely  beautiful  transformation  scene  is  exhibited 
in  the  Star  Chamber,  a  hall  from  200  to  500  feet  long  (ac- 
cording to  the  place  you  measure  from),  about  70  feet  wide 
at  the  iioor  and  narrowing  to  40  at  the  ceiling,  which  is 
60  feet  above  our  heads.  The  light  gray  walls  are  in 
strong  contrast  to  the  lofty  ceiling  coated  with  black  gyp- 
sum ;  and  this,  again,  is  studded  with  thousands  of  white 
spots,  caused  by  the  etilorescenee  of  the  sulphate  of  magne- 
sia. Th'3  guide  bids  us  seat  ourselves  on  a  log  bench  by 
the  wall,  and  then  collecting  our  lamps,  vanishes  behind  a 
jutting  rock;  whence,  b}'  adroit  manipulations,  he  throws 
shadows,  flitting  like  clouds  athwart  the  starry  vault.  The 
effect  is  extremely  fine,  and  the  illusion  is  complete.  The 
ceiling  seems  to  have  been  lifted  to  an  immense  distance, 
and  one  can  easily  persuade  himself  that  by  some  magic 
the  roof  is  removed,  and  that  ho  looks  up  from  a  deep 
canon  into  the  real  heavens. 


Mammoth  Care.  31 

*'  Good  night,"  says  the  guide,  "  I  will  see  you  again  in 
the  morning  ! " 

With  this  abrupt  leave-taking  he  plunges  into  a  gorge, 
and  we  are  in  utter  darkness.  Even  the  blackest  midnight 
in  the  upper  world  has  from  some  quarter  a  few  scattered 
rays  ;  but  here  the  gloom  is  without  a  gleam.  In  the  ab- 
solute silence  that  ensues  one  can  hear  his  heart  beat. 
The  painful  suspense  is  at  length  broken  by  one  of  those 
outbursts  of  laughter  that  come  when  least  expected  ;  and 
then  we  ask  each  other  the  meaning  of  this  sudden  deser- 
tion. But,  while  thus  questioning  each  other,  we  see  in 
the  remote  distance  a  faint  glimmer,  like  the  lirst  streak 
of  dawn.  The  light  increases  in  volume  till  it  tinges  the 
tips  of  the  rocks,  like  the  tops  of  hills  far  away.  The  ho- 
rizon is  bathed  in  rosy  hues,  and  we  are  prepared  to  see 
the  sun  rise,  when  all  at  once  the  guide  appears,  swinging 
his  cluster  of  lamps,  and  asking  us  how  we  like  the  per- 
formance. Loudly  encored,  he  repeats  the  transforma- 
tions again  and  again, — starlight,  moonlight,  thunder- 
clouds, midnight  and  clay-dawn,  the  latter  heralded  by 
cock-crowing,  the  barking  of  dogs,  lowing  of  cattle,  and 
various  other  farm-yard  sounds  ;  until,  weary  of  an  enter- 
tainment that  long  ago  lost  its  novelty  for  him,  he  bids  us 
resume  our  line  of  march. 

It  is  doubtful  if  one  visitor  in  fifty  goes  farther  into  the 
Main  Cave  than  to  the  Star  Chamber ;  but  none  fail  to  see 
this  favorite  hall  of  illusions.  The  path  to  it  is  dry  and  so 
Avell-trodden  as  to  be  quite  dusty. 

A  pleasing  incident  comes  to  mind,  showing  how  easily 
it  may  be  reached,  although  a  mile  under  ground.  One 
evening,  after  tea,  I  had  entered  thus  far  alone,  without  a 
guide,  and  after  studying  for  a  while  the  peculiar  effects 
of  light  and  shade,  I  sat  down  on  the  log  bench  and  put 
my  lamps  out,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  darkness, 
silence,  and  solitude.  But  ere  long  voices  were  heard,  and 
mysterious  peals  of  laughter.  Soon  the  day-dawn  effect 
was  unexpectedly  produced,  by  the  approach  of  a  party 
of  jocund  youths  and  maidens,  with  lights,  who,  having 
dressed    for  a  hop,  first  paid    a  visit  to  this  enchanted 


32  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

ground  :  niid,  ;is  cave  dust  never  flies  nor  sticks,  they  did 
so  without  u  speck  on  }»olis]ied  boot  or  trailing  robe. 

It  may  be  well  to  say  liero  that  the  remainder  of  the 
Main  Cave  is  one  of  the  "  Special  Routes,"  and  those  wlio 
wish  to  visit  it  should  make  their  arrangements  for  doing 
so  at  the  start. 

As  we  pass  along  under  a  mottled  ceiling  that  changes, 
from  the  constellation  just  described,  to  a  mackerel  sky 
with  fleecy  masses  of  floatingclouds,  many  curious  objects 
are  pointed  out  to  us.  Here  is  a  stout  oak  pole,  project- 
ing from  a  crevice,  now  inaccessible — put  there  when,  and 
by  whom,  and  for  what  purpose?  There  are  snow-drifts 
of  native  Epsom  salts,  whitening  the  dusky  ledges.  Spaces 
arc  shown,  completely  covered  by  broad  slabs,  under- 
neath which  are  the  ashes  and  embers  of  ancient  fires. 
Side-cuts  occasionally  tempt  us  from  the  beaten  path,  into 
which  we  return  by  a  circuitous  way.  These  are  gen- 
erally short,  though  some  of  them  are  several  hundred 
yards  long. 

Proctor's  Arcade,  the  next  considerable  enlargement  be- 
yond the  Star  Chamber,  is  said  to  be  100  feet  in  width,  45 
in  height,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length.  Its  pro- 
portion, are  very  symmetrical  thrcfighout,  and  when  illu- 
minated by  blue  lights,  burning  at  several  points,  deserves 
the  encomium  pronounced  on  it  by  Dr.  AVright,  of  being 
'•the  most  magnificent  natural  tunnel  in  the  world." 

Kinney's  Arena  is  a  hall  about  100  feet  in  diameter,  and 
50  feet  in  height.  Here  another  stick  in  the  ceiling  is 
pointed  out,  concerning  which  there  has  been  much  spec- 
ulation. 

After  passing  the  S  Bend,  which  has  no  special  points 
of  interest,  we  enter  a  spacious  chamber,  thus  described 
by  Prof.  C.  A.  Wright,  in  whose  honor  it  is  named : 

'•  Wright's  Rotunda  is  400  feet  in  its  shortest  diameter. 
The  ceiling  is  from  10  to  45  feet  in  height,  and  is  perfectly 
level,  the  apparent  diflTerence  in  height  being  produced  by 
the  irregularity  of  the  floor.  It  is  astonisdiing  that  the 
ceiling  has  strength  to  sustain  itself."  "  When  this  im- 
mense area  is  illuminated  at  the  two  extremes,  simultane- 


"II^H  .sjaipAoa  •IT 
•S}pq.XaBi[0  -01 
••BIIAOS  -6 


•ojjoif)  s.aiipBiJV  '9 

•}3UiqB0  S.AaAOH    'S 
•8010(1  S.UIJOO  •£ 

•raooH  lAvog  uapoo^w  't 


"X 


^^?^14 


~^-^^ 


Mawrnofh  Cave.  33 

ously,  it  presents  a  most  magnificent  appearance."  Nich- 
olas' Monument,  named  for  one  of  the  guides,  stands  at 
one  end  of  this  large  hall,  a  column  four  feet  in  diameter 
and  extending  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling. 

In  this  part  of  the  cave  the  path,  which  I  liave  said  was 
very  free  from  incumbrances,  grows  extremely  rough,  and 
the  floor  is  but  a  bed  of  angular  blocks,  over  wdiich  we 
make  slow  progress.  We  are  willing  to  take  the  guide's 
word  for  it  that  Fox  Avenue  is  worth  exploring,  and  that 
various  other  spots  are  curious  or  beautiful. 

"We  clamber  over  the  big  rocks,  however,  to  survey  a 
mass  of  ruins  known  by  the  ominous  name  of  the  Black 
Chambers.  The  walls  and  ceilings  are  here  completely 
coated  with  black  gypsum.  We  find  that  the  funereal 
darkness  defies  magnesium,  and  refuses  to  be  cheered  even 
by  red  fire. 

Crossing  to  the  right  hand  side  from  these  baronial 
ruins,  we  ascend  through  the  Big  Chimneys  to  an  upper 
level,  and,  as  we  proceed,  we  hear  the  sound  of  a  water- 
fall, which  increases  as  we  draw  near,  until  we  find  our- 
selves at  the  Cataracts. 

I  have  never  happened  to  see  this  spot  except  in  a  dry 
season,  and  then,  although  there  is  quite  a  cascade,  there 
is  nothing  to  correspend  with  the  frightful  torrents  that 
are  said  to  pour  down  after  heavy  rains,  "with  a  roar  that 
resounds  afar,  and  seems  to  be  shaking  the  cave  itself  from 
its  foundations."  The  water,  be  it  more  or  less,  falls^from 
large  perforations  over-head,  and  is  instantly  lost  to  sight 
in  a  deep,  funnel-shaped  pit. 

'No  creeping  nor  crawling  has  to  be  done  in  the  Main 
Cave,  the  average  width,  throughout  its  entire  extent  being 
about  GO  feet,  and  its  height  about  40  feet;  the  length  is 
estimated  at  nearly  four  miles,  of  which  we  have,  thus  far, 
traversed  less  than  half. 

For  the  sake  of  variety,  let  us  digress  to  visit  the  Soli- 
tary Chambers  ;  to  reach  which  we  have  to  pass  for  per- 
haps 20  feet  under  a  low  arch.  Pursuing  our  way  across 
these  lonely  apartments,  we  finally,  by  dint  of  much  crawl- 
ing, arrive  at  the  Fairy  Grotto,  once  famous  for  its  ten 


34  Celehraicd  American  Caverns. 

thousand  stalactites,  as  varied  in  foi-m  as  the  shapes  visible 
ill  the  kaleidost'Oi»e.  Ruthless  hands  have  marred  this 
Vicautitul  place,  demolishing  its  exquisite  creations,  until  it 
is  difficult  to  realize  the  truth  of  the  earlier  descriptions. 

Entering  the  Main  Cave  again,  near  the  Cataracts,  we 
continue  our  walk,  clambering  over  great  masses  of  frag- 
ments, taking  care  not  to  break  our  necks,  until  we  find 
ourselves  beyond  this  rocky  pass,  and  under  the  stupend- 
ous vault  known  as  the  Chief  City.  Amid  its  wonders 
we  linger  long.  Bayard  Taylor's  estimate  of  this  colossal 
room  shows  the  vigor  of  his  imagination  :  "Length,  800 
feet;  breadth,  300  feet;  heighth,  125  feet;  area,  between 
4  and  5  acres  ! "  Another,  whose  imagination  was  still 
more  lively,  estimates  the  area  at  11  acres  !  There  prob- 
ably are  about  two  acres ;  but  the  reader  who  has  never  ex- 
plored this  underground  realm,  will  find  it  tax  his  mind 
to  realize  how  large  even  such  an  area  would  seem,  clothed 
with  eternal  night,  built  in  by  walls  of  massive  rock,  and 
over-arched  by  so  vast  a  dome  as  to  make  us  hold  our 
breath,  lest  if  silence  were  broken  it  would  fall. 

'*  "Why  doesn't  it  fall?  "  I  heard  a  timid  visitor  ask  the 
guide. 

"  I  know  of  no  reason  why  it  should  not  fall  at  this  very 
moment,"  said  he,  solemnly,  '•'  and  I  never  come  under- 
neath without  some  degree  of  fear.  Yet  the  arch  appears 
to  be  a  solid,  seamless  block  of  limestone,  and  it  may  stand 
for  a  thousand  years." 

Immense  rocks  are  thrown  about  in  the  wildest  confu- 
sion, and  it  is  evident  that  mighty  forces  were  once  here 
at  play.  But  all  is  quiet  now,  and  the  dust  of  ages  lies  on 
those  huge  blocks.  The  guide  picks  out  from  interstices 
between  the  stones,  half-burnt  bits  of  cane,  which  he  as-l 
sures  us  the  red  men  used  to  fill  with  bear's  fat  and  burn, 
in  lieu  of  torches,  to  light  them  in  their  solemn  councils, 
or  during  their  search  for  hidden  treasures  of  flint  or 
alabaster.  The  fact  that  no  weapons  have  ever  been  found 
here  shows  that  the  councils  held  were  of  a  peaceful 
nature;  and  the  absence  of  human  remains  proves  that 
they  were  not  hero  on  a  funereal  errand.     But  certain  it  is 


Ifammoth  Cave.  35 

that  Indian  cTiiefs  saw  this  city  centuries  before  we  saw 
the  light  of  day.  It  should  be  added,  concerning  the  cane 
torches,  that  although  now  comparatively  few,  they  were 
formerly  so  numerous  as  to  furnish  materials  for  hundreds 
of  bon-fires  by  which  the  guides  were  accustomed  to  illumi- 
nate the  mountain  and  the  dome.  Dr.  Bird  speaks  (in  1837) 
of  the  supply  as  inexhaustible,  filling  the  rocky  crevices  in 
"  astonishing,  unaccountable  quantities." 

The  stern  features  of  the  scene  are  best  surveyed  from 
the  summit  of  a  rugged  ascent,  called  quite  appropriately, 
a  mountain.  Here  we  sit,  while,  again  and  again,  the 
guide  lights  red  fire  and  burns  Roman  candles,  and  dis- 
charges rockets  that  find  ample  room  to  explode  before 
they  strike  the  far-distant  walls.  The  probability  is  that 
electric  lamps  will  be  placed,  at  an  early  day,  in  these  dim 
regions,  and  then  every  nook  and  secret  recess  will  be 
brought  into  view ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  the  picturesque 
efiects  could  be  heightened  beyond  those  now  caused  by 
the  pyrotechnic  glare  that,  as  it  flashes  and  dies  away,  over 
the  long  slope  of  irregular  rocks,  and  athwart  the  gigantic 
vault,  brings  to  view  such  glories  as  no  torch-bearing 
mound-builder  ever  saw  or  dreamed  of  seeing. 

The  majestic  dome  appears  to  follow  us,  as  we  retire 
from  it,  overarching  us  at  every  step ;  as  is  the  case  with 
the  sky,  that  bends  the  same  canopy  of  blue  above  every 
meadow  and  valley,  as  the  traveler  moves  from  place  to 
place.  This  phenomenon,  first  noticed  by  Mr.  E.  F.  Lee, 
affords  an  impressive  proof  of  its  symmetrical  proportions 
and  vast  dimensions. 

And  while  the  crimson  light  stains  the  arches  and  pinna- 
cles, we  take  leave,  with  many  a  backward  look,  of  this 
prehistoric  council-chamber  of  sagamores  and  dusky 
braves. 

Resolute  pedestrians  may  cross  the  Chief  City,  and  ex- 
plore St.  Catherine's  City — which  presents  few  novelties — 
and  then  go  on  under  overhanging  clitfs,  to  a  place  where, 
beneath  a  ceiling  about  fifteen  feet  high,  the  cave  spreads 
out  to  a  considerable  width,  and  curious  botryoidal  forma- 
tions grow.     This   branch    ends   in    Symmes'  Pit,  a  well 


30  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

thirty  feet  deep.  Tlic  Blue  Spring  Branch  is  a  long  pas- 
Hiii^e,  with  very  rough  going,  that  leads  on  to  a  place 
where  the  rocks  lill  the  cave  from  tloor  to  roof,  hopelessly 
obstructing  further  progress.  And  this  is  the  end  of  the 
Maiu  Cave. 


Saltpeteb  VaX3. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Short  Route — Gothic  Gallery — Gothic  Arcade — Mummies — An- 
cient Relics — Short  Cave — Salt  Cave — Haunted  Chamber — Register 
Hall — Gothic  Chapel — Aged  Pillars — Romantic  Marriage — Old  Arm 
Chair — Main  Cave  Again — Deserted  Chambers — Wooden-Bowl  Room 
— New  Discovery — Arched  Way — Pits  and  Domes — The  Labyrinth — 
Side-Saddle  Pit — Gorin's  Dome — Putnam's  Cabinet — Hovey's  Cabinet 
— Bottomless  Pit — Pensico  Avenue — Scylla  and  Charybdis. 

The  Short  Eoute  may  be  taken  either  by  day  or  by 
night,  as  suits  the  convenience  of  the  visitors ;  but  those 
coming  for  a  brief  stay  prefer  the  latter,  as  it  leaves  the 
entire  ensuing  day  for  the  longer  journey.  The  time  re- 
quired is  four  hours;  hence  those  who  enter  at  7  p.  m.  may 
expect  to  come  out  again  by  11  p.  m,,  and  with  no  more 
fatigue  than  will  insure  a  sound  night's  rest  in  a  hotel 
where  a  mosquito  never  has  been  seen,  and  where  locks 
and  bolts  are  only  ornamental. 

Passing  without  further  mention  points  already  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  pause  first  at  the 
Gothic  Gallery.  Here  in  the  foreground  are  the  old  vats 
and  pump-frames ;  and  a  stairway  beyond  them  leads  to 
the  gate  of  a  long  avenue  we  are  shortly  to  explore.  From 
this  ample  gateway  a  narrow  gallery,  or  rocky  ehelf, 
sweeps  entirely  across  the  Main  Cave — really  forming  a 
bridge,  whereby  one  might  pass  to  the  other  side.  Should 
he  do  so,  he  would  find  indications  that  this  was  once  a 
continuance  of  the  avenue,  and  both  representing  the 
highest  level  known  in  the  cave.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the 
amphitheater  is  a  noble  one,  and  you  are  not  surprised  to 
be  informed  that  here  Edwin  Booth  once  rendered  selec- 
tions from  the  play  of  Hamlet,  taking  yonder  rocky  plat- 


;;s  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

[\n-\\\  on  the  right  as  his  temporary  stage.  Fire-works  are 
generally  exliibited  here,  and  to  great  advantage. 

Ascending  the  steps  we  enter  the  Gothic  Arcade,  and 
alter  proceeding  abont  forty  yards,  our  attention  is  di- 
rected to  a  niche  in  the  lett  hand  wall,  which  we  are  told 
is  the  Seat  of  the  Mnniniy.  The  legend  is  that  here  were 
once  found  the  dried  bodies  of  a  woman  and  a  child,  un- 
like modern  Indians,  and  probably  belonging  to  some  ex- 
tinct and  ancient  race.  Such  contiicting  statements  have 
been  published  concerning  these  remains,  that  many  have 
classed  the  "  Mammoth  Cave  Mummy"  with  the  numerous 
hoaxes  with  which  ingenious  perversity  has  amused  itself 
at  the  expense  of  a  credulous  public.     The  facts  are  these : 

In  1813  a  scientitic  visitor,  probably  Mr.  Merriam,  of 
Brooklyn,  X.  Y.,  saw  what  he  mentions  as  "  a  relic  of  an- 
cient times,  which  requires  a  minute  description."  This 
description  is  substantially  as  follows :  That  some  miners 
had  exhumed  a  female  body  while  digging  saltpeter-earth 
in  the  Short  Cave  (not  any  portion  of  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
but  a  small  cave  in  the  neighborhood).  The  grave  was 
covered  by  a  flat  rock,  and  contained  the  wardrobe,  as  well 
as  the  body  of  the  woman.  The  latter  was  in  a  sitting^ 
posture,  with  the  arms  folded,  and  hands  crossed  and  bound 
by  a  small  cord.  The  inner  wrapping  was  made  of  two 
deer-skins,  closely  shaved  and  ornamented  with  vines  and 
leaves  marked  in  white.  ]N^ext  came  a  woven  sheet,  in 
texture  like  fabrics  made  by  the  South  Sea  Islanders. 
The  hair  on  the  mummy's  head  was  red  and  clipped  vrithiu 
an  inch  of  the  skin.  The  teeth  were  white  and  perfect; 
the  nails  long;  tha  features  regular;  the  color  dark  but 
not  black ;  the  body  free  from  blemish,  except  a  wound 
l)etween  the  ribs  and  an  injury  to  one  eye ;  the  frame  that 
of  a  person  about  5  feet  10  inches  in  height;  the  flesh 
hard  and  dry  upon  the  bones  ;  and  the  weight,  at  the  time 
of  discovery,  but  14  pounds,  though  it  gained  4  pounds 
more  by  absorbing  dampness.  A  knapsack,  a  reticule,  and 
a  pair  of  moccasins,  all  of  woven  or  knit  fiber,  lay  by  tho 
mummy's  side.  The  articles  contained  in  the  reticule  and 
knapsack  wore  head-dresses  of  feathers ;  a  cap  of  woven 


Mammoth  Cave.  39 

bark  ;  several  hundred  strings  of  beads  tied  up  in  bunches ; 
a  necklace  of  red  hoofs  of  fawns ;  an  eagle's  claw  and  the 
jaw  of  a  bear;  folded  skins  of  rattlesnakes;  vegetable 
colors  done  up  in  leaves;  bunches  of  sincAvs,  thread,  and 
twine  ;  seven  needles  (or  awls) ;  a  deer-skin  hand  piece,  to 
protect  the  hand  in  sewing;  and  two  whistles  of  cane, 
bound  together  by  a  cord.  After  explaining  that  the  cause 
I'of  such  perfect  preservation  was  not  due  to  any  embalm- 
ing process,  but  merely  to  the  antiseptic  properties  of  the 
nitrous  earth,  combined  with  the  extreme  dryness  of  the 
cave,  this  writer  concludes  his  fanciful  description,  by  say- 
ing, "  The  features  of  this  ancient  member  of  the  human 
family  much  resembled  those  of  a  tall,  handsome  Ameri- 
can woman.  The  forehead  was  high,  and  the  head  well 
formed." 

This  same  mummy  was  found  by  Dr.  i^^ahum  Ward,  of 
Marietta,  O.,  in  1815,  in  the  Gothic  Avenue  (according  to 
Mr.  Proctor,  a  former  proprietor  of  the  hotel),  and  sent 
by  him  to  the  Antiquarian  Society  of  "Worcester,  Mass., 
where  it  now  is.  The  gentleman  to  whom  the  credit  of 
finding  is  really  due,  was  Mr.  Charles  Wilkins,  of  Lexing- 
ton, Ky.,  one  of  the  owners  of  Mammoth  Cave.  In  a  let- 
ter dated  October  2,  1817,  in  reply  to  the  inquiries  of  the 
secretary  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Mr.  Wilkins  first 
describes  the  mummy  of  an  infant  about  one  year  old, 
found  in  a  cave  about  four  miles  from  Mammoth  Cave, 
and  which,  with  its  clothing,  had  been  thrown  into  the 
furnace  by  the  workmen.  He  regretted  this  so  much  as 
to  offer  a  reward  for  the  next  that  might  be  found.  The 
result  was  the  discovery,  a  month  later,  of  the  one  that 
was  afterwards  sent  to  Worcester.  His  agent  (Mr.  Miller) 
sent  for  it  and  placed  it,  for  safe-keeping,  in  the  Mam- 
'moth  Cave,  and  quite  possibly  he  laid  it  in  the  niche  of 
the  Gothic  Avenue  that  is  now  pointed  out ;  but  this 
is  doubted  by  some.  Wilkins,  in  a  matter  of  flict  style 
quite  in  contrast  with  the  flowing  sentences  of  Merriam, 
tells  the  same  story,  confirming  the  account  of  the  uten- 
sils, ornaments,  and  articles  of  dress, 

Samuel  L.  Mitchill,  M.  D.,  of  j^ew  York,  also  wrote  to 


40  Cclebrafrf/  American  Caverns. 

the  Secretary,  giving  an  account  of  other  mummies  from 
tlie  caverns  of  K(>ntucky  and  Tennessee.  His  letter  is 
dated,  August  24,  1815,  and  is  preserved  in  the  published 
Transactions  of  the  Antiquarian  Society.  He  states  that 
"  In  exploring  a  saltpeter  cave  near  Glasgow,  several  hu- 
man bodies  were  found  enwrapped  carefully  in  skins  and 
cloths."  He  particularly  describes  one  that  had  "  a  deep 
and  extensive  fracture  of  the  skull,  near  the  occiput,  which 
probably  killed  him." 

In  the  Medical  Kcpository  (vol.  xviii,  p.  187),  is  pub- 
lished, a  letter  from  Mr.  Gratz,  one  of  the  owners,  accom- 
panying a  parcel  of  curiosities  sent  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  from 
which  we  may  fairly  conclude  that,  besides  interlopers 
from  Short  Cave  and  elsewhere,  there  were  genuine  Mam- 
moth Cave  mummies.     Mr.  Gratz  says: 

"  There  will  be  found  in  this  bundle  two  moccasons,  in 
the  same  state  they  were  when  dug  out  of  the  Mammoth 
Cave,  about  200  yards  from  its  mouth.  Upon  examination, 
it  will  be  perceived  that  they  are  fabricated  out  of  dif- 
ferent materials;  one  is  supposed  to  be  a  species  of  flag,  or 
lily  which  grows  in  the  southern  parts  of  Kentucky ;  the 
other  of  the  bark  of  some  tree,  probably  the  pawpaw. 
There  are  also,  in  this  packet,  a  part  of  what  is  supposed 
to  be  a  kinniconeke  pouch,  two  meshes  of  a  fishing  net, 
and  a  piece  of  what  we  suppose  to  be  the  raw  material, 
and  of  which  the  fishing  net,  the  pouch  and  one  of  the 
moccasons  are  made.  All  of  which  were  dug  out  of  the 
Mammoth  Cave,  nine  or  ten  feet  under  the  ground;  that 
is,  below  the  surface  or  floor  of  the  Cavern."  Mr.  Gratz 
also  describes  "  an  Indian  bowl,  or  cup  containing  about 
a  pint,  cut  out  of  wood,  found  also,  in  the  Cave;"  and  adds 
"  lately  there  has  been  dug  out  of  it  the  skeleton  of  a  hu-i 
man  body,  enveloped  in  a  matting  similar  to  that  of  the 
pouch." 

During  the  progress  of  the  recent  State  geological  sur- 
vey. Prof.  F.  AV.  Putnam,  through  his  connection  with  it, 
was  able  to  examine  the  archfeology  of  the  various  rock 
shelters  and  caverns  of  Kentucky  ;  and  his  report  was  pub- 
lished in  187.'>,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of 


Mammoth  Cave.  41 

I^atural  History.  lie  collated  all  known  facts  concerning 
the  relics  here  mentioned ;  examined  the  celebrated  mum- 
my in  the  museum  at  Worcester,  finding  ample  proof  of 
the  general  correctness  of  the  earlier  accounts ;  and  also 
exhibited  exceedingly  curious  fabrics  from  Salt  Cave,  a 
small  cave  near  Mammoth  Cave,  and  belonging  to  the 
same  proprietors. 

Indian  fire-places,  with  ashes  and  embers  remaining; 
imprints  of  feet  shod  with  braided  moccasons  or  sandles, 
as  distinct  as  if  made  but  a  few  days  previous ;  numerous 
cast-off  sandles,  artistically  braided  from  the  leaves  of  the 
cat-tail  flag ;  woven  cloth,  dyed  with  black  stripes,  and  in 
one  corner  showing  that  it  had  been  mended  by  darning; 
bunches  of  bark,  and  pieces  of  bark-twine  and  rope ; 
fringes  and  tassels  of  fibers ;  wood  cut  by  a  stone  ax ;  a 
few  arrow-heads,  and  various  fragments — these  were 
among  the  curiosities  found  by  Prof.  Putnam  in  the  Salt 
Cave.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  enthusiastic  lover  of  sci- 
ence may  find  his  example  of  thorough  research  imitated 
by  those  who  do  not  have  to  travel  a  thousand  miles  to  do 
their  cave  hunting ! 

On  the  old  maps  of  the  cave  the  Gothic  Avenue  is  put 
down  as  the  Haunted  Chamber,  on  account  of  an  adven- 
ture that  befell  one  of  the  saltpeter  miners.  The  story  runs 
that  a  raw  hand  disdained  the  guidance  of  an  older  work- 
man, and  trudged  oiF  alone  to  dig  his  lot  of  "  peter-dirt," 
and  was  forgotten  by  the  other  miners  until  dinner  time. 
Then  a  few  negroes,  half-naked,  as  was  their  custom  when 
working,  started  to  hunt  him  up.  The  poor  fellow  had 
filled  his  salt-sacks  and  started  back,  but  finding  the  way 
longer  than  it  had  seemed  when  going  in,  concluded  that 
he  was  lost.  In  his  fright  he  became  thoroughly  bewil- 
dered, and,  to  make  matters  worse,  fell  over  a  stone  and 
put  his  lamp  out.  His  sins  came  in  remembrance,  and  he 
gave  himself  up  to  alternate  frenzy  and  prayer.  "  It  was 
at  this  moment,"  says  Dr.  Bird,  who  tells  the  story,  "  that 
the  miners  in  search  of  him  made  their  appearance ;  they 
lighted  upon  his  sack,  lying  where  he  had  thrown  it,  and 
(Set  up  a  great  shout,  which  was  the  first  intimation  he  had 


1:2  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

of  llitir  iippi'oacli.  Tic  started  up,  and  seeing  them  in  the 
distance,  the  half-naked  negroes  in  advance,  all  swinging 
their  torches  aloft,  he,  not  doubting  they  were  the  identi- 
cal devils  whose  appearance  he  had  been  expecting,  took 
to  \\\>  lu'cis,  yt'lling  lustily  for  mercy.  Xor  did  he  stop, 
notwithstanding  the  calls  of  his  amazed  friends,  until  he 
had  fallen  a  second  time  over  the  rocks,  whore  he  lay  on 
his  face,  roaring  for  pity,  and  only  by  dint  of  much  pulling 
and  shaking  was  he  convinced  that  he  was  still  in  the 
world  and  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  ! " 

The  Post  Oak  is  a  pillar  about  twelve  feet  high,  bearing 
some  resemblance  to  a  trunk  of  a  tree,  and  is  formed  by 
the  meeting  of  a  stalactite  and  stalagmite.  It  stands  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Register  Hall,  on  whose  smooth  ceil- 
ing hundreds  of  names  have  been  inscribed  in  lampblack, 
before  the  rules  of  the  cave  had  prohibited  that  cheap 
method  of  gaining  immortality.  As  a  substitute  for  this 
rocky  album,  convenient  places  are  provided  for  visitors 
to  leave  their  cards,  which,  in  this  extremely  dry  portion 
of  the  cave,  will  remain  fresh  and  uninjured  for  many 
years.  Thousands  of  cards,  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
have  thus  been  left,  and  it  affords  amusement  to  look  over 
them.  Here  are  also  many  memorial  heaps  erected  by  ad- 
mirers of  celebrated  persons,  each  pile  having  a  sign  to 
show  in  whose  honor  it  stands,  and  by  whom  it  was 
erected. 

On  reaching  what  are  called  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  the 
guide  collects  the  lamps  and  arranges  them  with  fine 
effect  among  the  arches  of  the  Gothic  Chapel,  which  he 
then  invites  us  to  enter.  The  roof  of  this  room  seems  to 
rest  on  groups  of  stalagmitic  columns,  once  beautiful,  no 
doubt,  but  now  sullied  by  sacrilegious  smoke.  I  counted 
eight,  and  found  fragments  of  thirty  more  of  them.  Their 
growth  was  slow,  requiring  centuries  to  develop  their  pres- 
ent dimensions  ;  but  I  can  hardly  accept  the  conclusion  of 
Dr.  A.  D.  Binkerd  that  040,000  years  were  needed  for 
their  completion.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  rate 
of  increTuent  varies  with  changing  conditions.  Some  of 
them  are  still  dripping  slowly,  while  others  are  perfectly 


Mammoth  Cace.  43 

dry.  Hence  any  estimate  as  to  their  age  in  3'cars  is  idle 
and  fruitless.     It  is  only  certain  that  they  are  very  old. 

Three  pillars  are  so  grouped  as  to  form  two  Gothic 
arches,  and  before  this  unique  altar  once  stood  a  runaway 
bride  who  had  promised  an  anxious  mother  that  she  would 
"  never  marry  any  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth."  She 
kept  the  letter  of  her  promise,  but  was  married  after  all 
to  the  man  of  her  choice,  in  this  novel  Gretna  Green. 
Several  romantic  marriages  have  since  been  celebrated 
here. 

This  entire  avenue  is  more  than  a  mile  long,  and 
abounds  in  grotesque  curiosities.  The  Old  Arm  Chair  is 
a  stalagmite  resembling  the  object  for  which  it  is  named; 
and  one  of  a  lively  fancy  might  say  the  same  of  the  Ele- 
phant's Head.  Other  objects  pointed  out  are  Vulcan's 
Shop,  the  Lover's  Leap,  Gatewood's  Dining  Table,  Lake 
Purity,  and  is^apoleon's  Dome — grand  in  its  symmetry  and 
size.  The  avenue  ends  in  a  double  dome  and  a  small  cas- 
cade. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  the  Main  Cave,  and  proceeding 
as  far  as  the  Giant's  Coffin,  we  leave  it  again,  by  a  crevice 
behind  that  huge  sarcophagus,  and  presently  find  our- 
selves in  the  Deserted  Chambers,  in  one  of  which  was  found 
the  wooden  bowl  mentioned  by  Mr.  Gratz.  The  opening 
on  the  left  is  called  Ganter  Avenue  for  Mr.  H.  C.  Ganter, 
whose  skill  and  perseverance  have  made  the  passage  avail- 
able. It  is  indeed  a  combination  of  avenues  on  three  dif- 
ferent cave-levels,  and  it  winds  about  in  the  most  extraor- 
dinary manner.  In  March,  1891,  it  was  surveyed  by  Mr. 
Ben  Hains  and  myself,  and  found  to  be  8,500  feet  long. 
There  are  at  least  200  changes  of  direction,  but  the  gen- 
eral trend  is  for  the  first  6,000  feet  to  the  south-east,  and 
thence  to  the  westward  for  about  2,500  feet,  to  an  opening 
into  Serpent  Hall,  completely  beyond  the  region  of  the 
lakes  and  rivers.  The  passage  was  formerly  so  very  nar- 
row as  to  be  impracticable  for  public  use.  But  by  ingen- 
ious engineering,  widening  certain  crevices,  and  building 
stairways  of  stone  where  needed,  blasting  away  projecting 
rocks,  etc.,  not  only  have  several  interesting  rooms  been 


11  Celehmtcd  American  Cavenis. 

ni:i'l<'  arccssihlc.  Itiit  wliiit  is  far  iiiopc  important,  a  way  of 
i-xit  has  ln'iMi  secured  i'roin  the  romoter  i)ai'ts  of  the  cave 
in  case  of  a  smhlcn  rise  in  the  subterranean  streams. 

There  is  also  another  way  out  from  the  Wooden  Bowl 
Koom,  by  a  stairway  on  the  right,  bearing  the  whimsical 
name  of  the  Steeps  of  Time.  Down  this  we  go  to  a  lower 
level,  and  proceed  along  the  Arched  Way,  leading  to  a 
wonderful  region  of  pits  and  domes.  Early  writers  men- 
tion the  finding  of  moccason  tracks  near  a  basin  here 
called  Kichardson's  Spring,  where  every  body  stops  for  a 
taste  of  the  clear  water  flowing  down  from  the  rocks. 
Plodding  quietly  along  for  150  yards,  the  guide  suddenly 
cries,  "  Danger  on  the  right !"  Beside  our  path  yawns  a 
chasm  called  the  Side-saddle  Pit,  from  the  shape  of  a  pro- 
jecting rock,  on  which  we  seat  ourselves,  and  watch  with 
fearful  interest  the  rolls  of  oiled  paper  lighted  by  the 
guide  and  dropped  into  the  abyss.  Down  they  go  in  a 
fiery  spiral,  burning  long  enough  to  give  us  a  view  of  its 
corrugated  sides  and  of  a  mass  of  blackened  sticks  and 
timbers  sixty-five  feet  below,  the  distance  being  thus 
measured  by  a  line  and  plummet.  The  opening  is  twenty- 
five  feet  across,  and  above  it,  or  nearly  so,  is  Minerva's 
Dome,  thirty-five  feet  high. 

Descending  a  stairway,  50  yards  beyond,  we  enter  the 
Labyrinth,*  a  narrow,  winding  passage,  barely  wide  enough 
for  two  persons  to  go  abreast;  and  after  climbing  a  second 
stairway  and  going  down  a  third,  and  turning  about  till 
we  are  almost  bewildered,  we  find  ourselves  peering 
through  a  window-like  aperture  into  profound  darkness. 
The  gloom  is  intensified  by  the  monotonous  sound  of  drip- 
ping water  that  seems  to  fall  from  a  vast  height  to  a  dis- 

*The  original  Labyrinth  was  near  Crocodilopolis  (Arsinoe),  not  far 
from  the  Lake  Moeris,  in  Egypt.  Herodotus  describes  it  as  "consist- 
ing of  1,500  chambers  excavated  under  ground,  and  as  many  above  the 
surface,  the  whole  inclosed  by  a  wall."  He  explored  a  number  of  the 
mazes.  No  traces  of  it  now  exist  Perhaps  filled  uj)  with  sand.  A 
second  labyrinth  was  made  in  Tuscany,  a  third  in  Lemnos,  and  » 
fourth  in  Crete. 

"As  the  Crcthn  labyrinth  of  old 
With  wandering  ways,  and  many  a  winding  fold, 
Involved  the  weary  feet  without  redress, 
In  a  round  error  which  denied  rQQcss."— {Virgil's  uEneid.) 


Mammoth  Cave.  45 

mal  depth.  The  guide  bids  ns  stay  where  we  are,  .while  he 
goes  to  a  smaller  window  still  further  oii,  through  which 
he  thrusts  blue  lights  and  blazing  rolls,  disclosing  inde- 
scribable wonders  to  our  gaze  Igniting  magnesium  (of 
which  it  is  well  to  have  a  supply,  as  it  is  not  furnished  by 
the  guides),  we  discern  the  floor  far  below  us,  about  an 
acre  in  area,  its  general  level  about  90  feet  lower  than  the 
iwindow.  A  small  pit  in  it  leads  to  a  body  of.  water  12 
feet  deep,  making  the  total  distance  to  the  lowest  point 
117  feet.  The  height  of  the  vault  over-head  seems  to  be 
about  100  feet ;  which  gives  217  feet  as  the  extreme  alti- 
tude of  this  mighty  chasm  known  as  Gorin's  Dome.  It 
used  to  be  called  500  feet  high  ;  but  as  the  distance  from  the 
surface  to  drainage  level  is  now  known  to  be  only  328  feet, 
that  fact  effectually  disposes  of  such  exaggerated  estimates. 
The  perpendicular  walls  are  draped  with  three  immense 
stalagmitic  curtains,  one  above  another,  whose  folds, 
which  seem  to  be  loosely  floating,  are  bordered  with  fringes 
rich  and  heavy.  These  hangings,  dight  with  figures  rare 
and  fantastic,  fit  for  Plutonian  halls,  were  w^oven  in  ]N"a- 
ture's  loom  by  crystal  threads  of  running  water ! 

Putnam's  Cabinet,  and  Hovey's  Cabinet,  still  further  on 
m  the  Labyrinth,  are  smaller  domes,  where  concretions 
known  as  cave-pearls,  are  found,  and  also  some  of  the 
finest  alabaster  in  the  cave.  Here,  too,  are  specimens  of 
oolitic  limestone,  which  under  the  microscope  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  made  up  of  tiny  eggs.  The  passage 
terminates  in  Ariadne's  Grotto. 

On  retracing  our  vay  out  of  the  Labyrinth,  we  next 
come  to  the  famous  abyss  known  as  the  Bottomless  Pit, 
above  which  expands  Shelby's  Dome.  This  frightful  pit 
was  long  regarded  as  constituting  an  impassable  barrier  to 
further  progress ;  but  its  terrors  have  been  greatly  over- 
drawn. The  author  of  "Warwick,  or  the  Lost  JSTational- 
ities  of  America,"  makes  his  hero  descend  many  miles  into 
the  Bottomless  Pit,  by  the  aid  of  Stephen  the  guide  !  The 
depth  of  the  chasm  has  ordinarily  been  given  as  more  than 
200  feet.  It  is  really  a  double  pit,  being  nearly  divided 
by  a  tongue  of  rock  that  juts  into  it  for  27  feet ;  from  the 


41)  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

point  of  whicli,  in  1S37,  Stephen  threw  a  ladder  across, 
and  vontnri'd  into  the  unknown  regions  beyond.  A  sub- 
stantial bridge  now  spans  the  gulf,  which,  for  safety  is  re- 
newed every  four  years.  Leaning  over  the  hand-rails,  we 
safely  admire  the  gleaming  rolls  as  they  whirl  to  and  fro, 
slowly  sinking  till  they  vanish,  lighting  up,  in  their  capri- 
cious progress,  the  wrinkles  and  furrows  made  by  the  tor- 
rent's flow  during  untold  ages.  Bringing  the  mysterious 
abyss  to  the  severe  test  of  line  and  plummet,  we  find  its 
depth  to  be,  on  one  side  only  95  feet,  and  on  the  other  105 
feet.  Shelby's  Dome  overhead  may  be  60  feet  high,  and 
the  space  between  15  feet,  thus  making  180  feet  the  great- 
est distance  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  entire  chasm. 

Reveler's  Hall,  the  first  room  beyond  the  Bottomless 
Pit,  is  about  40  feet  in  diameter  and  20  feet  high,  and  was 
formerly  a  place  where  parties  stopped  to  dine.  The  path 
to  our  left  leads  to  the  Rivers,  which  are  reserved  for 
another  time.  That  on  the  right  is  Pensico  Avenue,  about 
a  mile  long,  and  containing  various  objects  of  interest. 
The  Sea  Turtle  is  the  first  of  these  to  which  our  attention 
is  called ;  a  rock  fallen  from  the  roof  and  shaped  like  the 
carapace  of  a  huge  tortoise,  30  feet  in  diameter.  "Wild 
Hall  is  next  entered,  where  the  great  rocks  are  strewn 
about  in  the  most  amazing  disorder,  under  a  roof  of  elab- 
orate lancet  arches.  A  low  passage  on  the  left,  called 
Bbuyan's  AVay,  communicates  with  River  Hall,  but  is  sel- 
dom traversed,  as  visitors  take  the  more  direct  path  men- 
tioned above.  Proceeding  still  through  Pensico  Avenue, 
we  admire  the  snowv  nodules  incrustinof  the  Snowball 
Arch,  beneath  which  we  go  on  to  the  Grand  Crossings, 
where  foi»v  avenues  meet.  This  place  is  much  admired. 
The  sam*'  »s  true  of  Mat's  Arcade,  50  vards  lou2:,  30  feet 
wide  ano*  GO  high,  where  ^Slat  himself  pointed  out  to  us 
the  series  -^f  cavern  floors  that  had  successively  given  way 
leaving  four  narrow  terraces  along  the  entire  length  of  thOj 
walls.  A  large  white  column  is  called,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  the  Pine- Apple  Bush.  A  little  beyond  this  forma- 
tion is  the  Hanging  Grove,  where  the  stalactites  resemble 


Mammoth  Cave.  47 

branches  of  coral  rather  than  those  of  trees.  About  a 
hundred  yards  on  and  we  arrive  at  Angelica's  Grotto, 
sparkling  with  crystals. 

This  is  the  end  of  the  Short  Rente  ;  and  here  this  chap- 
ter might  also  end,  were  it  not  that  I  wish  to  describe  • 
certain  remarkable  pits  discovered,  in  February  1881,  by 
Mr.  J.  T.  Hill  and  William  Garvin  the  guide.  These  are 
not  ordinarily  exhibited,  on  account  of  their  dangerous 
surroundings;  and,  indeed,  I  was  assured  that  I  was  the 
first  visitor  who  had  been  permitted  to  explore  the  locality, 
though  it  had  been  seen  by  several  persons  connected  with 
the  Cave. 

The  approach  is  by  a  low,  creeping  passage,  opening 
from  the  Arched  Way,  and  leading  across  what  has  for 
many  years  been  known  only  to  be  shunned — the  Covered 
Pit.  This  treacherous  chasm  is  imperfectly  concealed  by 
loose  slabs  of  limestone,  between  which  the  black  depths 
seem  to  be  lying  in  wait  for  the  heedless  explorer.  Cau- 
tiously crossing  it,  and  crawling  on  our  hands  and  knees 
for  some  distance  further,  we  stopped,  and  William  told 
me  to  listen  to  the  slow  dripping  of  a  waterfall.  Throw- 
ing a  pebble  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  I  could  hear  it 
bound  from  side  to  side  as  it  descended,  until,  after  a  long 
interval,  it  fell  into  a  body  of  water  below.  On  examina- 
tion we  found  that  we  lay  on  a  rocky  partition  between 
the  old  Covered  Pit  on  the  right,  and  a  new  one  on  the  left. 
The  latter  proved  to  be  a  pit  within  a  pit,  as  we  found  on 
throwing  lighted  paper  down  its  mouth.  The  upper  one 
is  about  90  feet  deep,  and  at  its  bottom  we  could  just  dis- 
cern the  orifice  of  the  lower  one. 

I  was  anxious  to  find  a  point  from  which  to  examine 
this  inner  pit  to  better  advantage.  Creeping  back  from 
ofi"  the  partition,  we  made  our  way  around  a  rocky  pillar 
for  perhaps  40  yards,  and  came  upon  the  further  edge  of 
the  pit  that  had  excited  our  curiosity,  and  also  found  an- 
other horrible  pit  on  the  left,  separated  from  the  first  by  a 
ridge  only  six  feet  wide !  The  proximity  of  the  two 
chasms  suggested  to  Mr.  Klett  the  names  of  Scylla  for  the 


4S;  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

first,  and  Charybdis  for  the   second  ;    in   memory  of  the 
classic  line  : 

"  Incidis  in  Scyllun  cupicns  vitare  Cliarybdim." 
(You  may  fall  into  Scylla,  trying  to  shun  Charybdis.) 
"Willing  to  run  some  risk  to  uccomplish  my  object,  I 
cliimbored  a  short  distance  down  into  Scylla,  to  a  ledge 
overhanging  its  very  deepest  portion,  and  cleft  by  a  ser- 
pentine crevice  about  five  inches  wide.  Dropping  pebbles 
through  this  crack,  we  timed  them  as  they  fell  unob- 
structed, and  by  repeated  trials  found  the  time  taken  in 
reaching  the  bottom  to  be  exactly  five  seconds  by  the 
watch.  This,  by  a  well-known  formula  for  calculating  ac- 
celerated motion,  would  give  402  feet  as  the  depth  in  vacuo. 
Making  due  allowance  for  the  resistance  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  for  the  time  necessary  for  the  sound  to  return,  the 
space  passed  was  not  less  than  200,  nor  more  than  250  fecL 
"William,  not  satisfied  with  scientific  guess-work,  produced 
his  ball  of  cord,  fastened  a  lamp  to  its  end,  and  let  it  down 
into  the  darkness.  The  glimmering  light  served  to  show 
the  irregular  walls  of  the  abyss,  as  it  descended,  until  ai- 
length  it  caught  on  a  projecting  rock.  In  his  eftbrts  to 
shake  it  loose,  the  cord  was  bufncd  oft';  but  the  lamp  ve- 
mained  where  it  had  lodged,  shining  on  as  if  determined 
to  do  its  duty  to  the  last !  The  part  of  the  cord  that  was 
drawn  up  measured  135  feet,  leaving  us,  after  all,  to  con 
jocture  the  remaining  depth.  I'robably  the  pit  perforates 
the  limestone  down  to  the  drainage  level — a  distance  ac- 
cording to  the  barometer,  of  220  feet. 

Glad  to  forsake  the  thin  crust  on  which  we  stood,  over- 
hanging such  prodigious  depths,  we  climbed  out  of  the  jaws 
of  Scylla,  and  made  experiments  on  Charybdis.  Here, 
again,  the  pebbles  were  five  seconds  in  reaching  the  pool 
below.  Along  the  perilous  rim  William  led  the  w^ay  to  still 
another  chasm,  which  we  identified  as  the  farther  edge  of 
the  Bottomless  Pit.  Regaining,  not  without  some  difla.- 
culty,  the  bridge  over  it,  we  proceeded  a  short  distance  on 
the  path  that  leads  to  River  Hall,  and  then  turned  back, 
by  a  passage  under  the  rocks,  to  an  opening  into  the  side 
of  the  Bottomless  Pit,  about  40  feet   below  the    bridge. 


Mammoth  Cave. 


49 


Here  we  saw  the  famous  pit  in  a  new  light,  and  also  ob- 
tained the  best  view  to  be  had  of  Shelby's  Dome.  The  ac- 
companying picture  of  the  Bottomless  Pit  was  taken  from 
this  point  of  view.  While  we  were  standing  there,  on  the 
occasion  referred  to,  I  noticed  a  volume  of  smoke  issuing 
from  a  window  be- 
yond us.  Investi- 
gating this  phe- 
nomenon, we  found 
ourselves  looking 
again  into  Charyb- 
dis,  though  not  at 
its  deepest  part. 
The  smoke  came 
from  the  blue  light 
we  had  ignited  just 
before  leaving  it. 

Thus,  as  we  havi 
shown,   there    are 
within     an    area 
whose  diameter 
does    not    perhaps 
exceed   600   yards, 
six   of  the   largest 
naturally      formed 
pits  in  the  known 
world,  besides  sev- 
eral others  of  small- 
er dimensions ;  and 
the  entire  group  is 
joined  together  by 
connecting   p  a  s  s  - 
ages.     An    inspec- 
tion of  the  accom- 
panying     diagram  The  Bottomless  Pit. 
(opposite  page     45)  will  enable  the  reader  to  get  an  idea 
of  this  extraordinary  locality. 

On  inquiring  of  Mr.  Klett  if  there  was  any  sink-hole 
in  the  vicinity  to  correspond  with  this  cluster  of  chasms, 


50 


Celebrated  American  Caverns. 


lie  diivctiMl  mo  to  a  })ioco  of  unbroken  forest,  less  than 
half  a  mile  from  the  Mammotli  Cave  Hotel,  where  all  the 
requiroments  of  the  case  seem  to  be  met.  This  vast  de- 
pression embraces  many  acres,  and  is  so  deep  that,  when 
standing  on  its  edge,  one  can  overlook  the  tops  of  the 
trees  growing  in  the  central  portion.  It  remains  to  be 
proved  by  further  explorations  whether  there  are  any 
hidden  tunnels  of  communication  between  it  and  the  re- 
markable group  of  domes  and  pits  I  have  been  trying  to 
describe. 


A  Snow  Clo^l..     i^See  page    59.) 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tiie  Long  Roale--Main  Cave  once  more — Beyond  the  Pits — Fat  Man's 
Misery  —  Bacon  Chamber  —  Spark's  Avenue  —  Mammoth  Dome  — 
Egyptian  Temple — A  Lamp  Lost  and  Found — River  Hall — Dead 
Sea — A  Jolly  Crowd  Crossing  the  Styx — Lake  Lethe — Echo  River — 
Eyeless  Fish — Subterranean  Music — Silliman's  Avenue — El  Ghor — 
A  Purple  Vintage — Dinner  in  the  Shade — A  Crystal  Paradise — 
Cleveland's  Cabinet — Cave  Flowers — Rocky  Mountains  — Croghan's 
Hall  —  The  Maelstrom  —  A  Daring  Exploit  —  The  Corkscrew  —  Old 
Matt  in  Danger — Out  of  the  Cave  and  under  the  Stars. 

Mammoth  Cave  has  gained  a  reputation  as  a  cave  of 
"  magnificent  distances  ;  "  and  many  a  critical  visitor  has 
set  himself  to  correct  the  over-estimates  of  others.  Yet 
the  fact  remains  that  the  Long  Eoute  is  a  day's  journey 
under  ground.  The  signal  for  starting  is  given  at  9 
A.  M.,  and  the  return  is  about  6  p.  m.,  after  nine  hours  of 
steady  walking  over  a  road,  a  little  rough  in  spots,  hut 
for  the  most  part  quite  smooth  and  easy.  I  was  one  of  "  a 
rapid  transit  party,"  one  day,  that  tried  to  see  how  quickly 
the  trip  could  be  made.  jSlone  but  fast  walkers  were  in- 
cluded, and  no  stops  were  made,  except  at  points  of  special 
interest;  and  the  time  consumed  was  just  seven  hours. 
Allowing,  therefore,  two  miles  an  hour  as  the  rate  of  travel,, 
it  follows  that  the  Long  Route  is  not  less  than  14  miles, 
nor  more  than  18;  and  this  estimate  may  as  well  be  ac- 
cepted until  the  distance  is  exactly  measured.  Long  as 
the  trip  is  few  persons  find  it  fatiguing,  being  sustained 
by  the  variety  and  novelty  of  the  scenery,  and  also  by  the 
cool  and  pure  air  for  which  the  cave  is  celebrated. 

Down  the  valley  again,  and  under  the  thick  horizontal 
plates  of  limestone,  from  whose  green  and  mossy  ledge  the 
wild  pattering  rill  falls  on  the  rocks  below  ;  on  through  the 


,",_>  Cdihrafcd  American  Caverns. 

Khitows,  and  tlio  Rotunda,  where  perhaps  a  generation 
<»r  dead  mon  sloop;  climbing  the  piles  left  by  the  niter- 
diii'ii'crs  of"  old,  or  led  by  the  musical  ringing  of  the  guide's 
i()olstci»s  on  the  hard  rocky  floor;  between  heavy  but- 
tre^^!('s  bending  beneath  the  gray  ceiling  above,  or  walls 
liollowcd  into  low-browed  niches  and  nobler  arches — thus 
wc  go  through  the  wide  and  lofty  Main  Cave  until  the 
Giant's  Cofiin  is  reached.  This  rock  was  originally  chris- 
ened  the  "  Steamboat,"  and  the  early  accounts  explained 
the  points  of  resemblance,  and  had  poetical  things  to  say 
about  her  "reposing  in  her  river  of  stone."  Creeping 
around  her  bows,  we  next  descend  into  those  dens  of  dark- 
ness, the  Deserted  Chambers,  and  soon  hear  the  faithful 
guide  call  out  ''  danger  on  the  right !  "  Safely  by  the  ter- 
liblo  pits,  we  pause  to  take  breath,  meanwhile  blowing 
our  lights  out  in  order  to  prove  by  the  "horror  of  a  great 
darkjiess"  what  a  blessed  thing  light  is.  Happy  are  we 
in  the  knowledge  that  the  lamps  are  still  near,  and  our 
pockets  full  of  matches  !  A  brief  imprisonment  in  an  at- 
mosphere that  seems  to  have  been  suddenly  solidified  to 
a  mass  of  coal  suffices,  and  we  relight  our  lamps  and 
mai'ch  on. 

"March,"  however,  is  not  just  the  right  word;  for 
progress  now  is  by  the  Valley  of  Humility,  a  low  passage 
four  feet  high,  conducting  us  into  the  Scotchman's  Trap, 
where  a  canny  Scot  paused  lest  the  broad  rock,  suspended 
by  the  tip,  might  fall  and  bury  those  venturing  through 
the  circular  orifice  beneath.  Less  timid  than  he,  we  dive 
down  the  trap-door,  and  presently  are  made  acquainted 
with  the  famous  and  original  Fat  Man's  ^Misery,  of  which 
all  others  are  but  base  imitations.  Some  fastidious  soul 
once  tried  to  change  this  name  to  "  the  Winding  Way," 
but  the  attempt  was  a  failure.  Here  the  path  enters  a 
serpentine  channel,  whose  walls,  18  inches  apart,  change 
direction  8  times  in  236  feet,  while  the  average  distance 
iVoni  the  sandy  floor  to  the  ledge  overhead  is  but  5  feet. 
Tlie  rocky  sides  are  beautifully  marked  with  waves  and 
rii)])les,  as  if  running  water  had  been  suddenly  petrified. 
Tin  re  s.'oms  to  have  been  first  a  horizontal  opening  be- 


Mammoth  Cave.  53 

tweeu  two  strata,  by  taking  advantage  of  which  this 
singular  channel  was  chiseled,  from  whose  too  close  em- 
brace we  gladly  emerge  into  Great  Eelief,  where  we  can 
straigliten  our  spines,  and  enjoy  once  more  the  luxury 
of  taking  a  full  breath.  The  question  is  sometimes  asked, 
"  How  fat  a  man  is  the  fattest  man  that  can  get  through 
the  Fat  Man's  Misery?"  Some  reader  may  be  comforted 
/by  learning  that,  in  August,  1881,  Mr.  Abraham  Meuks,  a 
colored  man  from  Lebanon,  Ky.,  whose  weight  was  pre- 
viously 282i^  pounds,  succeeded  in  the  attempt.  He  did 
without  help  till  he  came  to  the  place  where  the  floor 
comes  up  and  the  roof  comes  down,  to  bother  tall  men 
as  well  as  fat  ones,  and  then  William,  who  is  equal  to 
any  emergency,  helped  him  through. 

"  How  did  you  manage  it  ?"  said  a  listener  to  the  story, 
as  it  was  told  at  the  hotel  that  evening. 

"Easy  enough,"  gravely  answered  the  guide.  "I  took 
him  through  in  sections."  Meuks  himself  claimed  to 
have  lost  15  pounds  in  the  operation,  and  the  guides, 
to  this  day,  point  out  places  where  the  rocks  had  to  bend 
to  let  this  jolly  fat  man  through  ! 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  if  this  passage  were 
blocked  up,  escape  from  the  regions  beyond  would  be  im- 
possible. But  another  mode  of  exit  was  discovered  by 
William,  in  1871,  through  the  Cork-screw.  This  intricate 
web  of  fissures  was  known  as  long  ago  as  1837,  but  not  as 
a  passage  through  to  River  Hall.  In  the  oldest  published 
accounts  of  Mammoth  Cave  it  is  stated  that  "  among  the 
Kentucky  Cliffs,  just  under  the  ceiling,  is  a  gap. in  the 
wall,  into  which  you  can  scramble,  and  make  your  way 
down  a  chaotic  gulf,  creeping  like  a  rat  under  and  among 
huge  loose  rocks,  to  a  depth  of  80  or  90  feet — pro- 
vided you  do  not  break  your  neck  before  you  get  half 
way."  Since  William  made  his  way  through,  the  obstruc- 
tions have  partly  been  removed,  so  that  now,  by  mounting' 
three  stairways,  crawling  through  narrow  crevices,  and 
leaping  from  rock  to  rock,  one  may  ascend  for  what  would 
perhaps  be  a  vertical  distance  of  150  feet,  and  thus  reduce 
the  journey  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave  to  Great  Relief  b}^ 


54  Celebrated  Am rricnn  Caverns. 

nearly  a  mile.  Visitors  wlio  conio  in  one  way,  generally 
<ro  out  the  other,  and  I'eu'ard  the  last  route  chosen  the 
worst,  whichever  it  may  have  been. 

The  guide  calls  attention,  as  we  now  proceed,  to  the 
Odd  Fellow's  Links,  an<l  otlier  concretions  on  the  ceiling, 
which  are  caused  by  the  wearing  away  of  the  more  soluble 
limestone  from  around  hard  ridges  of  ironstone,  leaving 
these  emblems  in  bass-relief. 

Bacon  Chamber  is  a  still  more  striking  instance  of  mim- 
ickry,  for  the  masses  of  rock  projecting  from  the  ceiling 
certainly  look  like  the  rows  of  hams  in  a  packing-house, 
and  it  seems  as  if  nature  must  have  made  this  chamber 
wlien  in  some  jocose  mood. 

Spark's  Avenue  runs  from  the  Bacon  Chamber  to  the 
Mammoth  Dome,  the  most  spacious  of  the  many  domes  in 
this  cave.  As  this  is  a  "special  route,"  I  took  my  guide 
early  one  morning,  long  before  the  regular  hour  for  par- 
ties to  enter  for  the  Long  Route,  meaning  to  complete  the 
trip  in  time  to  join  a  large  compau}^  of  tourists  from  Xash- 
ville,  who  were  going  beyond  the  rivers.  My  guide,  on 
this  occasion,  was  Tom  Lee,  and  we  were  accompanied  by 
Barton,  the  artist,  whose  pencil  has  furnished  many  of  the 
cuts  that  embellish  this  volume.  Leaving  the  latter  to 
make  a  drawing  of  the  Cork-screw,  Tom  and  I  entered 
Sparks'  Avenue,  which,  as  he  told  me,  is  named  for  Mr. 
C.  A.  Sparks,  of  Xew  York.  It  begins  well  by  an  ample 
room  named  Bandit's  Hall,  where  there  is  a  wild  confu- 
sion of  huge  rocks.  Brigg's  Avenue,  to  the  right  of  it,  we 
did  not  explore,  though  it  is  said  to  be  of  great  extent,  I 
also  took  for  granted  the  "  petrified  saw-logs  "  in  Clarissa's 
Dome,  at  the  end  of  Sylvan  Avenue,  100  yards  on  our  left, 
after  leaving  Xcwman's  Spine — a  crevice  where  we  have 
the  privilege  of  straightening  our  own  spines,  after  no  lit- 
tle stooping.  We  finally  emerged  from  Sparks'  Avenue, 
and  found  ourselves  on  a  terrace  thirty  feet  long  and  fif- 
teen feet  wide,  confronted  by  a  realm  of  empty  darkness. 
Our  lamps  revealed  neither  floor,  nor  roof,  nor  opposite 
wall.  And  this  is  Mammoth  Dome,  the  grandest  hall  in 
all  this  domain  of  silence  and  of  ni^ht.     I  directed  Tom  to 


Mammoth  Cave.  55 

leave  rae  here,  and  to  return  for  my  comrade  and  for  fire- 
works. 

Not  until  Tom's  glittering  light  was  gone,  and  his  re- 
treating steps  had  ceased  to  echo  along  the  corridor,  did  I 
realize  the  utter  loneliness  that  surrounded  me.  I  sat  on 
the  edge  of  the  terrace  for  a  time,  and  amused  myself  by 
throwing  lighted  papers  down,  thus  discovering  that  the 
floor  was  less  than  forty  feet  below  me,  and  was  accessible 
only  by  a  rude  ladder  blackened  with  age.  Here  and 
there  a  rung  was  missing,  and  I  hesitated  to  trust  myself 
to  such  a  fragile  support.  Retreating  into  the  avenue,  I 
whiled  the  time  away  by  catching  cave  crickets,  till  Tom 
and  Barton  came  with  twenty  lamps  and  a  supply  of  red 
fire  and  bengolas. 

Carefully  descending  the  treacherous  ladder,  which  has 
since  been  replaced  by  a  substantial  stairway,  we  lighted 
up  the  huge  dome,  by  burning  magnesium  at  three  points 
at  once,  and  estimated  its  dimensions  to  be  about  400  feet 
in  length,  150  feet  in  width,  and  varying  from  80  to  250 
feet  in  height.  The  floor  slopes  down  to  a  pool  that  re- 
ceives a  waterfall  from  the  summit  of  the  dome.  The 
walls  are  curtained  by  alabaster  drapery  in  vertical  folds, 
varying  in  size  from  a  pipe-stem  to  a  saw-log,  and  deco- 
rated by  heavy  fringes  at  intervals  of  about  twenty  feet. 
A  huge  gateway  at  the  farther  end  of  the  hall,  opens  into 
a  room  so  like  the  ruins  of  Luxor  and  Karnak,  that  we 
named  it  the  Egyptian  Temple.  The  floor  here  is  paved 
with  stalagmitic  blocks,  stained  by  red  and  black  oxides 
into  a  kind  of  mosaic.  Six  colossal  columns,  80  feet 
from  base  to  capital,  and  25  feet  in  diameter,  stand 
in  a  semi-circle,  flanked  by  pyramidal  towers.  The  ma- 
terial of  the  shafts  is  gray  oolite,  fluted  by  deep  fur- 
rows, with  sharp  ridges  between ;  the  whole  column  being 
veneered  with  yellow  stalagmite,  rich  as  jasper,  and  cov- 
ered by  tracery  as  elaborate  as  Chinese  carving.  The  cap- 
itals are  projecting  slabs  of  limestone,  and  the  bases  art- 
garnished  by  mushroom-shaped  stalagmites.  The  largest 
of  them  is  Caliban's  Cushion.  By  an  opening  behind  the 
third  column  in  the  row,  we  clambered  down  a  steep  de- 


.')() 


Cdi  hnitid  American  Caverns. 


scent  into  iilo.iniy  catacombs  bcncatli,  wliich  wo  did  not 
fully  explore  tor  lack  of  time  Tom  pointed  out  to  us,  on 
our  wav  back  to  the  terrace,  an  ojieninij:  overliead,  and  as- 
sured us  that  it  was  identical  with  the  Crevice  Tit  in  the 
branch  of  Audubon's  Avenue,  known  as  tlic  Little  Bat 

In  old  times  the 
miners,  in  searching 
for  the  best  ])edsof 
Baltpeter-earth,  had 
the  notion  that 
there  must  be  a 
very  rich  deposit  in 
the  Crevice  Pit,  and 
one  of  them,  in  ex- 
amining it,  dropped 
his  lamp.  He  climb- 
ed down  into  tlie 
ugly  black  hole,  and 
tried  to  get  his 
lamp  again  by  feel- 
ing around  with  a 
stick.  Suddenly 
the  stick  fell  rat- 
iuc  i^uviTiAN  Temple.  tling  down  an  abyss. 

A  sprightly  young  negro  volunteered  to  be  let  down  at 
the  end  of  a  rope,  as  a  sort  of  animated  plummet,  to  sound 
the  depth  of  the  pit.  The  story  he  told,  on  being  drawn 
up  again,  was  so  wonderful  that  nobody  believed  him,  of 
a  s[»acious  and  splendid  room,  far  larger  than  the  Rotunda. 
When  Mr.  EdniuiKl  F.  Leo,  a  civil  engineer  of  Cincinnati, 
made  his  survey  of  Mammoth  Cave,  in  1835,  he  tied  a 
stone  to  a  string  and  ^'  struck  bottom  at  280  feet."  As  the 
real  distance  is  less  than  100  feet,  the  probability  is  that 
he  [taid  out  the  rope  after  the  stone  rested  ;  or  else  that 
the  stone  rolled  down  toward  the  pool  below,  and  was 
then  di-awn  up  ami  the  whole  length  of  cord  taken  as 
telling  the  dej-th. 

Un<'  "f  th.'  guides  named  John  iJuford,  while  accompa- 


Mammoth  Cave.  57 

nying  a  certain  visitor  named  Smith,  in  1843,  discovered 
the  entrance  through  Sparks'  Avenue,  to  the  immense 
room  that  was  named,  in  honor  of  the  explorer,  "  Smith's 
Mammoth  Dome."  On  a  subsequent  visit,  one  of  the 
guides — I  think  it  was  old  Mat — found  the  miner's  lamp 
lying  on  the  floor  where  it  had  fallen  thirty  years  before. 

It  was  time  to  return,  if  we  were  to  carry  out  our  origi- 
nal plan.  On  the  way,  Tom  called  our  attention-  to  cer- 
tain signs  on  the  walls,  by  means  of  which  the  guides 
could  tell  their  way,  if  they  were  at  any  time  in  doubt. 
Each  guide  has  his  own  mark,  and  it  is  said  that  many  a 
time,  when  one  of  the  later  ones  has  congratulated  him- 
self on  a  new  discovery,  he  has  been  chagrined  by  finding 
Stephen's  or  Mat's  sign  on  the  wall,  showing  a  previous 
visit. 

On  entering  River  Hall,  we  followed  a  path  skirting  the 
edge  of  clifi's  sixty  feet  high  and  one  hundred  feet  long^ 
embracing  the  sullen  waters  to  which  the  name  of  Dead 
Sea  is  given.  Descending  a  flight  of  steps,  we  came  to  a 
cascade,  but  a  little  further  on,  by  some  conjectured  to  be 
a  reappearance  of  the  waterfall  at  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 
It  precipitates  itself  into  a  funnel-shaped  hollow  in  a  mas- 
sive mud-bank.  On  another  visit,  in  1881,  we  found  a 
natural  bed  of  mushrooms  growing  here,  a  species  of 
Agaricus,  that  has  suggested  the  idea  of  a  mushroom 
farm,  similar  to  those  at  Frepilon  and  Mery,  in  France, 
whence  many  thousands  of  bushels  are  sent  to  market  an- 
nually.    It  IS  laid  out  ill  Audubon  Avenue. 

Our  various  speculations  were  broken  in  upon  by  the 
hilarious  sounds  heralding  the  party  under  Mat's  escort, 
long  before  they  came  in  view.  There  never  was  a  pret- 
tier sight  than  this  merry  company,  sixty  in  all,  as  with 
flashing  lamps  and  spangled  costumes  they  skirted  the 
somber  terrace,  astonishing  the  gnomes  by  "  Litoria,"  and 
other  jolly  college  songs.  They  wound  past  us,  in  single 
file,  disappearing  behind  a  wall  of  stone  to  come  into  view 
again  on  the  natural  bridge,  whence  they  swung  their 
lamps  to  catch  sight  of  the  River  Stix,  on  whose  banks 
we  now  were  standing. 


58 


Celebrated  American  Caverns. 


The  estimated  length  of  the  Styx  is  400  feet,  and  its 
breadth  ahout  40  feet.  It  was  formerly  crossed  by  boat, 
before  the  discovery  of  the  natural  bridge,  whence  Mat's 
party  are  liailing  us  with  invitations  to  join  their  number 


and  go  on. 


Crossing  the  Styx. 

Lake  Lethe  comes  next — a  body  of  water  about  as  large 
as  the  Styx,  and,  like  it,  once  crossed  only  by  boat.  It  is 
now  lower  than  formerly,  being  slowly  tilled  with  mud, 
and  a  narrow  path  runs  along  its  margin,  at  the  foot  of 
cliffs  00  feet  high,  leading  to  a  pontoon  at  the  neck  of  the 
hike.  Crossing  this,  we  step  upon  a  beach  of  the  finest 
yellow  sand.  This  is  the  Great  AValk,  extending  to  Echo 
river,  a  distance  of  500  yards,  under  a  lofty  ceiling  mottled 


Mammoth  Cave.  59 

with  white  and  black  limestones,  like  snow-clouds  drifting 
in  a  wintry  sky.  A  rise  of  only  live  feet  would  completely 
cover  this  sandy  walk,  and  this  is  its  condition  for  from 
four  to  eight  months  in  every  year.  The  streams  are 
usually  low  in  summer,  when  there  are  also  the  most  vis- 
itors— a  fortunate  coincidence. 

The  connection  of  the  cave  rivers  with  Green  river  has 
been  demonstrated  by  the  simple  experiment  of  throwing 
chaff  upon  them,  which  comes  to  the  surface  in  the  upper 
and  lower  big  springs ;  deep,  bubbling  pools,  lying  half  a 
mile  apart,  under  cliffs  bristling  with  hemlock  and  pine. 
"When  these  pools  are  submerged  by  a  freshet  in  Green 
river,  the  streams  in  the  cave  are  united  into  a  continuous 
body  of  water.  The  rise  is  augmented  by  the  torrents 
emptied  down  through  the  sink-holes,  and  sometimes  is  so 
great  as  to  touch  the  iron  railing  above  the  Dead  Sea. 

The  subsidence  of  so  vast  a  body  of  water,  although  for 
some  reason  less  rapid  than  of  streams  without,  must  be 
with  powerful  suction  causing  eddies  and  whirlpools.  In 
order  to  save  from  destruction,  at  such  times,  the  uncouth 
little  fleet,  built  of  planks  and  timbers,  every  piece  of 
which  was  brought  in  through  passes  we  had  traversed 
with  difficulty  empty-handed,  the  boats  are  securely  fast- 
ened, when  not  in  use,  by  long  ropes  or  twisted  grape- 
vines that  let  them  swim  with  the  flood. 

The  first  persons  that  ever  crossed  the  rivers  were 
Stephen,  the  guide,  with  Mr.  John  Craig,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Mr.  Brice  Patton,  a  teacher  in  the  Blind  Asylum  at 
Louisville.  A  number  of  blind  men  and  women  have,  at 
different  times,  visited  Mammoth  Cave.  Mat  piloted  four 
in  one  party  in  1880.  They  took  only  the  Short  Route. 
They  seemed  much  interested,  and  talked  about  what  they 
had  seen,  and  said  that  every  thing  was  very  fine ! 

Four  boats  now  await  us  on  the  banks  of  Echo  river. 
Each  has  seats  on  the  gunwales  for  twenty  passengers, 
while  the  guide  stands  in  the  bow  and  proj)els  the  prim- 
itive craft  by  a  long  paddle,  or  by  grasping  projecting 
rocks.  There  is  hardly  a  perceptible  current  at  any  sea- 
son when  the  stream  can  be  crossed  at  all ;  hence  the  inac- 


on  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

curacy  of  pictures  that  represent  the  river  as  boisterous, 
and  frantic  oarsinen  striving  with  might  and  main  to  keep 
tlio  boat  from  shi[twreck.  And  as  the  only  gale  in  the 
entire  cavern  is  tliat  which  blows  out  of  its  mouth,  there 
is  equal  impropriety  in  a  striking  picture  I  have  seen  of 
sail-\)Oi\iii  on  this  unruffled  tide  ! 

The  low  arcli,  only  three  or  four  feet  high,  under  which 
we  c'o  at  embarkation,  soon  rises  to  a  height  varying  from 
ten  to  thirty  feet,  while  the  plummet  shows  a  still  greater 
depth  below.  The  surface  at  low  water  is  by  the  barome- 
ter but  20  feet  above  the  level  of  Green  river ;  and  this 
may.  therefore  be  regarded  as  the  lowest  part  of  the  cave, 
at  least  so  far  as  it  is  accessible  to  visitors.* 

The  width  of  Echo  River  varies  from  20  to  200  feet,  and 
its  length  is  said  to  be  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile. 
Throughout  its  entire  extent  there  are  only  one  or  two 
points  where  a  landing  could  be  made,  and  the  stream  can 
not  properly  be  said  to  have  any  shore.  Hence  the  guides 
exercise  the  strictest  authority,  in  order  to  guard  against 
accidents. 

Matt  secures  for  our  exclusive  use  a  boat  smaller  than 
those  into  which  the  others  crowd.  He  then  draws  from 
a  hiding-place  a  hand-net,  and  tries  to  catch  for  us  a  few 
of  the  famous  eyeless  fish,  that  dart  to  and  fro,  but  vanish 
on  the  least  agitation  of  the  waters.  His  success  at  this 
time  was  not  very  encouraging.  But  subsequently,  on 
other  trips,  we  captured  numerous  specimens,  from  two  to 
six  inches  long,  and  usually  destitute  even  of  rudimentary 
organs  of  vision.  Several,  however,  had  protuberances  or 
sightless  eyes,  and  one  had  good  eye-sight.  The  grada- 
tions of  color  are  from  olive-brown  to  pure  white ;  while 
some  are  perfectly  transparent.  They  have  simple  carti- 
lage instead  of  bones,  and  are  destitute  of  scales.  They 
are  known  to  be  viviparous,  the  young  being  born  in  Oc- 
tober, and  without  external  eyes  when  born.  There  are 
also  blind  and  white  crawfish,  that  are  oviparous,  as  is 
proved  by  a  fine  specimen  now  m  my  cabinet,  which  still 

*One  authority  makes  the  river  240  feet  below  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  by  barometric  measurement.     Others  make  it  but  174  feet. 


Mammoth  Cave.  61 

carries  its  cluster  of  salmon-colored  agg?'.  The  Cambarus 
and  Ambljopsis  have  a  wide  distribution;  being  found  in 
many  other  caves,  and  also  in  certain  deep  wells,  both  in 
Kentucky  and  in  Indiana.  These,  as  well  as  other  true  sub- 
terranean fauna,  maybe  regarded  as  chiefly  of  Pleistocene 
origin;  yet  certain  forms  are  supposed  to  be  remnants  of 
Tertiary,  and  possibly  of  Cretaceous  life.  The  stronglv 
marked  divergence  of  cave-animals  from  those  found  out- 
side, convinced  the  elder  Agassiz  that  they  were  especially 
created  for  the  limits  within  which  they  dwell.  But  it  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  more  variability  than  can  be  accounted 
for  by  their  migration,  many  generations  ago,  from  the 
outer  world  to  a  realm  of  absolute  silence  and  perpetual 
darkness. 

Along  the  water's  edge  are  cavities,  from  a  few  inches 
to  many  feet  in  depth,  washed  out  by  the  stream.  These 
gave  a  wag  along  with  the  jolly  Xashville  party  an  oppor- 
tunity to  break  the  silence  that  had  settled  over  the  voy- 
agers, and  he  shouted  with  absurd  glee,  pointing  to  the 
cavities  : 

"  Oh,  see  these  little  bits  o'  caves — three  for  five  cents  !  " 

The  solemn  echoes  caught  his  silly  tones,  and  bore  them, 
as  if  in  derision,  hither  and  thither  and  far  away.  When 
the  peals  of  laughter  that  followed  had  died  away,  a  quiet 
lady  in  black  velvet  led  the  company  in  sacred  song.  The 
concord  of  sweet  sounds  was  surprisingly  agreeable. 

Allowing  the  iTashville  party  to  go  on  without  us,  we 
remained  alone  on  Echo  river,  floating  over  its  strangely 
transparent  water,  as  if  gliding  through  the  air,  and  trying 
every  echo  its  arches  were  capable  of  producing,  A  single 
aerial  vibration  given  with  energy,  as  by  a  pistol-shot,  re- 
bounded from  rock  to  rock.  The  din  awakened  by  dis- 
cordant sounds  was  frightful.  On  the  other  hand  when 
the  voice  gave  the  tones  of  a  full  chord  seriatim,  they  came 
back  in  a  sweeping  arpeggio.  Flute-music  produced  charm- 
ing reverberations;  and  the  cornet  still  finer  effects.  It 
should  be  explained  that  this  symmetrical  passage-way 
does  not  give  back  a  distinct  echo,  as  the  term  is  commonly 
used,  but  a  harmonious  prolongation  of  sound  for  from  10 


WJ. 


Celebrated  American  Caverns. 


to  30  seconds  after  the  original  impulse.  The  long  vault 
has  a  certain  key-note  of  its  own,  which,  when  iirmly 
struck,  excites  harmonics  including  tones  of  incredible 
depth  and  sweetness,  reminding  me  of  the  profound  un- 
dertone one  hears  in  the  music  of  ]S"iagara  Falls. 

An  extraordinary  result  was  obtained  by  the  guide's 
agitating  the  water  vigorously  with  his  broad  paddle,  and 
then  seating  himself  hi  silence  by  my  side.  The  first  sound 
that  broke  the  stillness  was  like  the  tinkling  of  silver  bells. 
Larger  and  heavier  bells  then  seemed  to  take  up  the  mel- 
ody, as  the  waves  sought  out  the  cavities  in  the  rock.  And 
then  it  appeared  as  if  all  chimes  of  all  cathedrals  had 
conspired  to  raise  a  tempest  of  sweet  sounds.  They  then 
died  away  to  utter  silence.  We  still  sat  in  expectation. 
Lo,  as  if  from  some  deep  recess  that  had  been  hitherto  for- 
gotten, came  a  tone  tender  and  profound;  after  which, 
like  gentle  memories,  were  re-awakened  all  the  mellow 
sounds  that  had  gone  before,  until  River  Hall  rang  again» 
Those  who  try  their  own  voices  are  pleased  to  have  the 
hollow  wall  give  back  shout  and  song,  whimsical  cry  and 
merry  peal;  but  tlic  nymphs  reserve  their  choicest  harmo- 
nies for  those  who  are  willing  to  listen  in  silence  to  the 
voice  of  many  waters. 

A  rocky  inlet  receives  our  craft,  and  as  we  land  we  are 
greeted  by  the  melody  of  a  cascade  that  breaks  itself  into 
pearls  on  the  sloping  ledges.  An  avenue  extends  from 
Cascade  Hall  to  Roaring  river — a  succession  of  shallow 
ripples  and  deep  basins,  navigated  by  a  canoe.  The  pas- 
sage-way through  which  it  flows  has  an  echo  of  remark- 
able power,  but  hoarse  rather  than  musical. 

AVe  overtake  Mat's  party  in  Silliman's  Avenue,  where 
the  irregular  floor,  rugged  walls  finished  by  a  well  marked 
cornice,  and  sides  pierced  by  cavities,  show  that  we  are 
now  in  a  portion  of  recent  formation  as  compared  with  the 
Main  Cave.  Among  ])oints  of  interest  in  this  long  avenue, 
may  be  mentioned  the  Dripping  Spring,  around  which  are 
grouped  the  first  stalactites  we  have  seen  since  entering 
River  Hall.  The  scarcity  of  these  ornaments  in  a  cave  so 
large  as  this  has  often  excited  remark.     The  explanation 


Mammoth  Cave.  (33 

probably  is,  that  the  massive  limestone  from  which  it  is  ex- 
cavated is  almost  completely  covered  by  a  bed  of  sand- 
stone, through  which  the  w^ater  makes  its  way,  not  by  per- 
colation, but  through  fissures  and  sink-holes.  Hence  the 
present  dryness  of  large  portions  of  the  cave,  and  their 
lack  of  stalactites.  The  Infernal  Region  is  the  odious 
name  given  to  a  miserably  wet  and  disagreeable  spot  be- 
yond the  Spring,  and  it  does  not  surprise  us  to  have  Ser- 
pent Hall  come  next,  where  the  guide  points  out  the  trail 
of  the  reptile  on  the  w^all  overhead.  Here  also  is  the  inner 
terminus  of  the  Ganter  Avenue,  that  leads  by  a  dry  path 
back  to  the  Main  Cave.  In  a  side-cut  called  the  Valley 
Way,  we  find  white  masses  of  fibrous  gypsum.  Beyond 
the  Hill  of  Fatigue  stands  the  Great  Western,  like  the 
stern  of  an  immense  ship,  with  its  rudder  to  the  starboard. 
We  mount  to  a  slender  ledge  between  the  Vale  of  Flowers 
and  Rabbit-rock,  and  follow  Rhoda's  Arcade  for  500  yards, 
amid  rare  incrustations,  to  twin-domes,  seldom  visited  be- 
cause so  difiicult  of  access.  The  one  we  enter  is  about  60 
feet  in  diameter,  and  opens  into  the  other  by  a  gothic 
window  150  feet  above  the  floor.  The  guide  climbs  up  to 
it,  and  burns  magnesium,  while  we  do  the  same  below. 
Thus  we  are  enabled  to  survey  the  long  stalagmitic  curtains 
that  drape  the  sides,  aud  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  oval 
apex,  300  feet  over  us.  This  is  Lucy's  Dome — the  loftiest 
natural  dome  yet  discovered  ! 

Silliman's  Avenue  ( named  for  Prof.  Silliman,  of  Yale 
College),  ends  in  Ole  Bull's  Concert  Hall,  where  the  re- 
nowned violinist  once  gave  a  musical  entertainment. 

Continuing  our  journey  by  a  picturesque  pass,  known  as 
El  Ghor,  we  have  successively  brought  to  notice,  the  Fly 
Chamber,  whose  walls  are  singularly  sprinkled  with  little 
crystals  of  black  gypsum ;  Suicide  Rock,  so-called  "  be- 
cause it  hung  itself;"  Table  Rock  or  the  Sheep-shelter; 
the  Crown,  and  other  curiosities.  Corinna's  Dome,  9  feet 
wide  and  40  high,  rests  directly  over  El  Ghor ;  the  Black 
Hole  of  Calcutta,  is  an  ugly  pit  on  the  left  of  the  pass ; 
while  a  narrow  avenue  further  on  leads  to  Stella's  Dome, 


f4  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

250  feet  high,  and  said  to  he  very  fine,  though  rarely  vis- 
ited. 

El  Ghoi' may  he  followed  half  u  mile  further,  and  is  said 
to  connnunicate  witli  Mystic' Kiver — on  what  authority  I 
do  not  know,  for  none  of  the  guides  could  give  informa- 
tion concerning  it.  We  leave  the  gorge  at  a  small  hasin 
called  Hebe's  Spring,  hy  climbing  by  a  ladder'up  20  feet, 
and  going,  one  at  a  time,  through  a  very  uninviting  hole 
in  the  roof;  and  thus  we  gain  admittance  to  an  upper  tier 
of  caverns.  When  the  last  man  is  through  by  burn- 
ing magnesium,  we  are  surprised  to  lind  ourselves  in  a  vine- 
yard— the  famous  Mary's  (or  Martha's)  Vineyard!  Count- 
less nodules  and  globules  simulate  clusters  on  clusters  of 
luscious  grapes,  burdening  hundreds  of  boughs  and  gleam- 
ing with  party-colored  tints  through  the  dripping  dew.  J^o 
covetous  hand  is  permitted  to  gather  this  marvelous  vint- 
age. By  a  detour  one  may  reach  a  natural  chapel,  named 
by  an  enraptured  priest,  the  Holy  !Se2:)ulcher;  there  are 
fine  stalactites  also  in  the  vicinity. 

Leaving  this  enchanted  ground  we  soon  enter  Washing- 
ton Hall,  which  is  but  a  smoke-stained  lunch-room,  strewn 
with  relics  of  hundreds  of  dining-parties,  while  along  its 
walls  are  the  sharp  fragments  of  numberless  bottles  that 
have  survived  their  usefulness.  We  find  that  servants 
from  the  hotel  h.ave  anticipated  our  coming,  and  have 
spread  for  us  an  abundant  meal.  Vigorous  exercise  whets 
the  appetite,  and  we  leave  but  few  remnants  for  the  rats. 
Cans  of  oil  are  kept  here,  and  while  we  dine  the  guides 
trim  and  fill  the  lamps. 

The  ceiling  of  the  next  room  is  dotted  with  hemispheri- 
cal masses  of  snowy  gypsum,  each  of  which  is  from  2  to 
10  inches  in  diameter,  looking  like  snow-balls  hurled 
against  the  wall  and  sticking  there. 

A  charming  special  trip  is  from  this  point  down  Marion 
Avenue,  said  to  be  a  mile  and  a  half  long.  It  is  from  20 
to  60  feet  wide,  has  a  clean,  sandy  floor,  and  a  clouded 
ceiling.  At  its  farther  end  it  has  two  branches.  That  on 
the  left  leads  to  Zoe's  Grotto.     The  other  branch  leads  to 


;.       ^■'■•^    ::■  «s**m:l 

''."■\   ■ 

'■'''^■''"'^^^:'  ' 

i- 

■^^^^H 

Mammoth  Cave.  g5 

a  Paradise  where  all  the  flowers  are  fair  and  crystalline, 
and  which,  in  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  guides,  is  the 
most  beautiful  place  in  the  whole  cave.  Portia's  Parterre 
is  of  the  same  general  description  ;  while  Digby's  Dome  is 
remarkable  simply  because  it  cuts  through  to  the  sandstone. 

The  regular  route  takes  us,  however,  next  into  that 
treasure-house  of  alabaster  brilliants  known  as  Cleveland's 
Cabinet.  What  words  can  picture  forth  its  beauty?  Im- 
agine symmetrical  arches,  of  50  feet  span,  where  the  fancy 
is  at  once  enlivened  and  bewildered  by  a  mimickry  of 
every  flower  that  grows  in  the  garden,  forest,  or  prairie, 
from  the  modest  daisy  to  the  flaunting  helianthus. 

Select,  for  examination,  a  single  one  of  these  cave  flow- 
ers— the  "  oulopholites  "  of  the  mineralogist.  Consider  the 
charms  of  this  queenly  rose  that  has  unfolded  its  petals  in 
Mary's  Bower.  From  a  central  stem  gracefully  curl 
countless  crystals,  fibrous  and  pellucid;  each  tiny  crystal 
is  in  itself  a  study ;  each  fascicle  of  curved  prisms  is  won- 
derful ;  and  the  whole  blossom  is  a  miracle  of  beauty. 

Now  multiply  this  mimic  flower  from  one  to  a  hundred, 
a  thousand,  a  myriad.  Move  down  the  dazzling  vista,  as 
if  in  a  dream  of  Elysium — not  for  a  few  yards,  or  rods, 
but  for  one  or  two  miles !  All  is  virgin  white,  except  here 
and  there  a  little  patch  of  gray  limestone,  or  a  spot 
bronzed  by  some  metallic  stain,  or  again,  as  we  purposely 
vary  the  lovely  monotony  by  burning  colored  lights.  Mid- 
way is  a  great  floral  cross  overhead,  formed  by  the  natural 
grouping  of  stone  rosettes.  Floral  clusters,  bouquets, 
wreaths,  garlands,  embellish  nearly  every  foot  of  the  ceil- 
ing and  walls;  and  the  very  soil  sparkles  with  trodden 
jewels.  The  pendulous  fringes  of  the  night-blooming 
cereus  are  rivaled  by  the  snowy  plumes  that  float  from 
rifts  and  crevices,  forever  safe  from  the  withering  glare  of 
day-light.  Clumps  of  lilies,  pale  pansies,  blanched  tulips, 
drooping  fuchsias,  sprays  of  asters,  spikes  of  tube-roses, 
wax-leaved  magnolias, — but  why  exhaust  the  botanical 
catalogue?  The  fancy  finds  every  gem  of  the  green-house 
and  parterre  in  this  crystalline  conservatory.  Earlier  vis- 
itors have  described  long  sprays,  like  stalks  of  celery,  run- 


CP)  Cdcbrafcd  Amcrirnn  Caverns. 

iiinir  vines,  and  bi'aiiclio.s  of  a  cliaiulolicr,  and  I  had  not 
believed  them.  But  wiien  I  told  niv  (hjiibts  to  good  old 
Mat,  he  kindly  took  me  to  a  spot  where  they  were  still  to 
be  seen — in  Charlotte's  Grotto.  It  has  been  impossible  to 
fifuard  all  these  exquisite  formations  from  covetous  fingers, 
and  too  many  have  been  smoked  by  the  lamps  of  careless 
visitors.  But  happily  the  subtle  forces  of  nature  are  at 
work  to  mend  what  man  has  marred,  and  to  replace  by 
fresh  creations  what  has  gone  to  the  mineralogist's  cabinet 
or  the  amateur'^  efagere. 

Cleveland's  Cabinet  terminates  at  the  base  of  a  pile  of 
fragments  fallen  from  the  roof,  and  dignified  by  the  name 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Its  height  docs  not  exceed  100 
feet,  and  the  gorge  the  other  side  of  it,  the  Dismal  Hollow, 
is  only  about  70  feet  deep. 

The  cave  here  divides  intD  three  branches.  That  on  the 
right  leads  a  long  distance,  and  ends  in  Sandstone  Dome, 
the  roof  of  which,  judging  from  its  material,  can  not  be  far 
below  the  surface.  The  middle  branch  is  named  Franklin 
Avenue,  from  30  to  60  feet  wide,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  long.  The  path  is  very  uneven  and  wild.  It  leads 
to  a  circular  canopy  12  feet  in  diameter,  called  Serena's 
Arbor,  thus  described  by  a  clerical  writer  in  the  N^ew 
York  Observer :  "  It  is,  of  itself,  floor,  sides,  roof,  and 
ornaments,  one  perfect,  seamless,  stalactite,  of  a  beautiful 
hue  and  exquisite  workmanship.  Folds  or  blades  of  sta- 
lactitic  matter  hang  like  dnipery  around  the  sides,  reach- 
ing half  way  down  to  the  floor ;  and  opposite  the  door,  a 
canopy  of  stone  projects,  elegantly  ornamented,  as  if  it 
were  the  resting-place  of  a  fairy  bride." 

Tourists  generally  are  content  with  taking  the  left-hand 
path,  which  leads  them  at  once  to  Croghan's  Hall,  whicli, 
is  the  end  of  the  Long  Route.  This  hall  is  about  60  feet 
in  diameter,  and  35  feet  high,  and  contains  the  finest  sta- 
lactites in  the  cave,  many  of  them,  however,  sadly  disfig- 
ured. Some  of  them  arc  translucent  and  very  hard.  On 
the  right  is  the  Maelstrom,  a  pit  20  feet  Avide,  and  said  to 
be  175  feet  deep.  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  a  daring 
youth  to  tell  how  Mr.  AV.  C.  Prentice,  son  of  the  poet  and 


Mammoth  Cave.  67 

editor,  George  D.  Prentice,  descended  this  abyss  in  quest 
of  adventures. 

As  the  guides  tell  the  story,  they  furnished  a  rope  by 
which  the  young  hero  was  lowered,  amid  fearful  and  en- 
chanting scenes,  then  first  lighted  since  creation's  morning 
by  the  feeble  rays  of  his  solitary  lamp.  Midway  he  en- 
countered a  waterfall,  spouting  from  the  wall,  into  whose 
sparkling  shower  he  unavoidably  swung.  Escaping  all 
dangers,  he  stood  at  last  on  the  solid  rock  below.  On  his 
way  up,  he  swung  himself  into  a  huge  niche,  whence  he 
roamed  through  wide  and  wondrous  chambers  till  checked 
by  rocky  barriers.  Then  returning  to  the  place  where  he 
had  fastened  his  rope  to  a  stalactite,  he  found  it  disentan- 
gled and  dangling  beyond  his  reach.  Ingeniously  twist- 
ing the  wires  of  his  lamp  into  a  long  hook,  he  caught  hold 
again,  and  signaled  to  the  guides  to  draw  him  up.  It  is 
said  (believe  it  who  may)  that  they  did  this  with  such  zeal 
that  the  cable  was  fired  by  friction,  and  that  one  of  the 
guides  crawled  out  on  the  beam  and  emptied  a  flask  of 
water  on  the  burning  rope  !  The  whole  story,  with  all  its 
embellishments,  is  done  into  spirited  verse  by  Rev.  George 
Lansing  Taylor.  The  hero  himself,  whose  life  was  so 
miraculously  spared,  finally  sacrificed  it  during  the  late 
war.  Prentice  has  had  at  least  one  imitator,  if  not  two, 
who  accomplished  the  descent  into  the  Maelstrom,  but 
without  his  adventures. 

A  dog-story  worth  telling  is  connected  with  the  last  trip 
I  made  to  the  end  of  the  Long  Route,  in  1881,  as  it  oifers 
some  striking  peculiarities.  Many  a  dog  will  bravely  fol- 
low his  master  amid  tangled  forests  and  lofty  hills,  that 
will  refuse  to  go  with  him  into  a  dark  and  silent  cave. 

Jack,  the  old  house-dog  at  the  hotel,  is  not  an  exception 
to  this  rule ;  for  he  has  long  had  the  habit  of  escorting 
guests  as  far  as  the  Iron  Gate.  There  he  waits  till  all 
have  gone  in,  and  then  trots  home  again,  his  duty  done. 
But  Jack  has  had  a  companion  in  his  old  age. 

"  We  call  him  Brigham"  explains  William,  "  'cause  he's 
Young,  you  know  !  " 

From  the  first  Bri2:ham  seemed  to  have  no  fear  of  dark- 


08  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

ness.  The  two  clogs  would  trot  pidc  by  side,  as  far  as  the 
Iron  Gate;  but  tliere  they  would  part.  Jack  would  re- 
turn, as  usual,  to  the  hotel;  while  Brigham  would  push 
on  into  the  cave.  The  latter  grew  to  be  a  great  favorite 
witli  the  guides  ;  and  Manager  Klett  warned  us  not  to  lose 
him  when  we  took  him  in  with  us. 

The  day  that  Brigham  went  with  us  on  the  Long  Route, 
lie  o;rew  very  weary,  and  cared  less  for  the  lovely  arches  of 
cave  flowers  than  for  some  cozy  nook,  where  he  might 
curl  down  for  a  nap.  Soon  after  lunch  in  Washington 
Hall  he  was  missing,  and  did  not  come  at  our  repeated 
calls. 

"Perhaps  he  has  gone  ahead  to  Echo  river,"  said  I, 
"  and  is  waiting  for  us  there." 

"  Like  enough,"  said  William,  "  I  had  n't  thought  of 
that." 

But  no  bounding  form  or  joyful  bark  welcomed  our  ap- 
proach. The  echoes  answered  to  our  calls,  as  if  a  thou- 
sand voices  were  crying  for  Brigham,  as  well  as  we  ;  and 
our  whistling  was  repeated,  as  if  all  the  spirits  of  the  cave 
had  been  let  loose  for  an  ^olian  concert. 

Plainly  the  dog  was  lost!  William  thought  Brigham 
might  track  us  as  far  as  the  river;  but  that  on  reaching 
the  water  he  would  lose  the  scent  and  not  try  to  swim 
across.  Lighting  a  freshly  filled  lamp,  he  set  it  on  a  ledge 
at  the  entrance  to  a  passage  called  Purgatory,  by  which, 
with  only  a  little  swimming,  the  dog  might  make  his  way 
around  the  river. 

Sadly  we  returned  to  the  hotel,  where  the  announce- 
ment of  the  loss  caused  a  sensation.  Early  the  next  morn- 
ing a  party  crossed  Echo  river,  and  there  they  were  met 
by  Brigham,  who  returned  in  the  boat  with  them  to  this 
side.  Shortly,  however,  he  again  disappeared,  and  was 
left  to  his  fate. 

iN'othing  was  seen  of  him  all  that  day.  This  time,  of 
deliberate  choice,  he  remained  a  second  night  under 
ground.  The  next  morning  Jack,  too,  was  missing,  and 
was  found  at  the  Iron  Gate,  exchanging  experiences  with 
Brischam,  who  was  still  behind  the  bars ! 


The  Corkscrew. 


Mammoth  Cave.  69 

Our  curiosity  led  us  to  examiue  Brigham's  tracks.  "We 
found  that  he  had  followed  our  trail,  step  by  step,  his  only 
guide,  of  course,  being  his  sense  of  smell.  Thus  he  had 
tracked  us,  over  soft  mud-banks  and  mellow  nitrous  earth, 
ridges  of  sand  and  heaps  of  stone,  from  Echo  river  to  the 
Corkscrew,  by  many  a  spot  where  a  single  misstep  would 
have  sent  the  poor  lonely  creature  plunging  downward  in 
darkness  to  inevitable  death.  On  reaching  the  Corkscrew 
he  did  not  seem  to  have  hesitated  an  instant,  but  climbed 
up  through  that  intricate  and  hazardous  pass,  where  most 
men  would  be  in  confusion  even  with  a  lamp  and  a  map  of 
the  cave.  I  could  not  learn  that  the  dog  had  ever  been 
that  way  before ;  and  when  he  went  in  with  us  he  entered 
by  the  way  of  the  Deserted  Chambers. 

By  contrast  with  this  perfect  and  fearless  operation  of 
instinct  ( which  Prof.  Brewer  cites  as  a  case  of  "  orienta- 
tion"), the  story  may  be  told  of  Old  Mat's  escape  under 
somewhat  similar  circumstances. 

Once,  during  troublous  times.  Old  Mat  was  at  work 
near  the  pits  when  he  heard  some  young  men  coming  with 
song  and  with  shout,  as  if  they  had  been  taking  more 
wine  than  was  for  their  good.  The  ex-slave  thought  that 
"  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  hid  in  a 
crevice,  put  his  lamp  out,  and  quietly  waited  for  the  rev- 
elers to  pass  by.  On  coming  forth  from  his  hiding-place 
he  found  that  he  had  no  matches,  and  therefore  could  not 
re-light  his  lamp. 

The  hour  was  late,  and  he  feared  lest  a  long  time  might 
elapse  before  help  should  come  ;  he  therefore  determined 
to  make  his  way  out  in  the  dark.  Feeling  cautiously 
along  with  his  staff,  he  went  safely  until  it  suddenly 
dropped  into  a  pit  of  unknown  depth.  Brave  as  Mat  is 
known  to  be,  he  fell  in  a  swoon,  and  lay,  no  one  knows 
how  long,  on  the  edge  of  the  chasm.  On  coming  to,  he 
collected  his  wits  as  well  as  he  could,  and  felt  with  his 
hands  for  the  path.  He  presently  found  it,  and  proceeded 
on  his  perilous  journey,  making  his  way  finally  to  the  sur- 
face.    Old  Mat  told  me  this  story  himself,  as  he  and  Brig- 


70  Celebrated  American  Caverns. 

lunu  and  I  sat  oil  the  brink  of  tlie  \qy\  abyss  in  which  he 
so  narrowly  escaped  finding  a  tomb. 

The  full  moon  was  riding  in  a  cloudless  sky,  when  we 
emerged  from  our  last  day's  journey  in  the  great  cavern, 
AVe  had,  as  usual,  a  practical  proof  of  the  purity  of  the 
exhilarating  cave  atmosphere,  by  its  contrast  with  that  of 
the  outer  world,  which  seemed  heavy  and  suffocating. 
The  odors  of  trees,  grass,  weeds  and  flowers  were  strange- 
ly intensified  and  over-powering.  The  result  of  a  too  sud- 
den transition  is  frequently  faintness  and  vertigo.  The 
custom  is  to  linger  awhile  on  the  threshold,  where  the 
outer  and  inner  airs  mingle.  Resting  thus,  on  rustic  seats, 
near  the  entrance,  my  companions  and  I  interchanged  our 
views  concerning  this  wide  subterranean  realm  whose 
secrets  we  had  been  exploring.  Matt  said  we  had  tramped 
to  and  fro,  in  and  out,  not  less  than  a  hundred  miles;  and 
there  was  none  to  dispute  him  !  We  had  gained  less  defi- 
nite knowledge  than  we  had  anticipated ;  and  had  a  surfeit 
of  conjectures,  estimates  and  mysteries.  "We  were  grateful,, 
however,  for  the  impressions  we  had  received,  and  for  the 
memories  retained  of  wonderful  scenes  and  strange  adven- 
tures. Feelings  akin  to  friendship  had  sprung  up  within 
us  for  Mammoth  Cave ;  and  it  was  with  positive  regret 
that  we  finally  turned  away  from  the  fern-fringed  chasm 
lying  there  in  the  soft  moonlight,  where  the  sparkling 
cascade  throws  pearly  drops  from  the  mossy  ridge,  and 
spreads  its  mist  like  a  silver  veil. 


APPENDIX   A. 


SUBTERRANEAN    FLORA    AND   FAUNA. 

Underground  America  is  of  vast  extent,  and  we  have  much  yet  to 
learn  as  to  the  varieties  of  life  permitted  by  its  peculiar  conditions. 
Vegetation  in  Mammoth  Cave  would  be  seriously  affected  by  its  hydro- 
graphy. As  the  primitive  river  system  of  the  Ohio  Valley  sank  from 
terrace  to  terrace,  the  floor  of  the  cavern  would  sink  from  tier  to  tier. 
There  are  in  all  five  Avell  marked  levels;  the  lower  ones  being  still 
liable  to  inundation,  but  the  upper  ones  being  extremely  dry.  In  arid 
localities,  destitute  alike  of  light  and  of  moisture,  few  plant  forms  could 
grow.  Wood  decays  slowly;  meat  hung  up  remains  long  without 
putrefaction  ;  luncheon  relics,  though  there  by  the  cart-load,  impart 
not  the  slightest  taint  to  the  atmosphere.  But  in  the  lower  halls, 
where  the  conditions  are  reversed,  timbers  soon  decay  and  meat 
quickly  spoils.  From  the  underside  of  bridges  masses  of  snow-white 
fungi  many  feet  long  sway  in  huge  fantastic  folds.  Five  indigenous 
kinds  of  fungi  have  been  thus  far  identified  ;  by  far  the  most  com- 
mon being  the  Oozonium  auricomum.  I  found  a  bed  of  agarics  near 
the  river  Styx,  which  led  to  experiments  for  raising  mushrooms  on  a 
large  scale  for  the  markets.  The  prepared  beds  are  to  be  seen  in  Au- 
dubon avenue,  where  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  expended  under 
expert  gardeners. 

Tlie  fauna  of  caverns  is  richer  than  their  flora.  Yet  the  list  is  not 
long  after  rigorously  excluding  transient  varieties.  Bats,  rats,  mice, 
and  lizards  are  no  more  truly  cave-dwellers  than  are  the  raccoons  and 
opossums  that  come  in  to  prey  on  them  ;  although  some  of  them  may 
have  staid  long  enough  under  ground  to  be  affected  by  their  sur- 
roundings. After  careful  research,  and  canceling  synonym ns,  I  am 
unable  to  enumerate  more  than  about  one  hundred  species  of  true  sub- 
terranean fauna  in  the  caverns  of  our  country.  These  are  thus  dis- 
tributed through  the  animal  kingdom  : 

Infusoria  9  species.     Araclmida 31  species. 

Vermes 4       "  Myriopoda 5       " 

Crustacea 11       "  lusecta 33       " 

Vertebrata 4  species. 

Insignificant  as  many  of  these  creatures  may  seem,  shyly  darting- 

(71) 


72  Apj)endix.    - 

into  crevices,  or  liidincj  uiidor  stones,  at  tlie  visitor's  approach,  they 
have  probably  had  more  attention  from  scientific  men  than  any  other 
animals  of  their  size.  They  have  been  niicr()Sco])ically  examined  down 
to  their  minutest  particles,  and  many  pages  have  been  laboriously 
written  about  them,  bristling  with  words  ])ig  enough  to  describe 
whales  and  mastodons,  instead  of  minnows,  crickets,  spiders,  flies, 
worms,  and  fleas.  Those  desiring  to  pursue  the  matter  more  thor- 
luighly  are  referred  to  the  publications  of  Putnam,  Wymau,  Cope, 
IIubl)ard,  Emerton,  and  others,  and  especially  to  the  exhaustive  me- 
moir ou  the  cave  fauna  of  North  America  laid  before  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences,  in  1886,  by  Professor  A.  S.  Packard,  together 
with  a  complete  bil)liography  of  cave  literature. 

Only  a  few  of  the  many  hard  names  given  by  scientists  to  the  ani- 
mals of  Mammoth  Cave  need  be  mentioned  to  the  general  reader. 
Amblyopsis,  Typhllchthys,  and  Chologaster  are  generic  appellations  of 
the  blind  fish.  The  sightless  crawfish  is  the  Carabarus  pellucidus. 
The  formidable  name  of  the  cave  cricket  (or  grasshopper)  is  the  Hade- 
noecus  subterraneus.  The  ordinary  cave  spider  is  the  completely  eye- 
less Anthrobia ;  and  there  are  also  the  Acanthocheir,  the  absurdly  long- 
legged  Phrixis,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  other  species.  The  flies  for 
which  these  spiders  lie  in  wait  are  the  Anthomyia,  and  the  singularly 
interesting  Phora.  Among  beetles  may  be  mentioned  the  Adelops  and 
Anophthalmus  ;  while  the  Myriopods  are  represented  by  the  hairy  Sco- 
terpes  and  its  near  ally  the  Pseudotremia.  Cave  hunters  will  be  grati- 
fied to  learn  that  none  of  these  creatures  are  known  to  be  poisonous. 
I  never  heard  of  any  serpents  venturing  within  the  cave ;  and  the  few 
lizards  that  one  sees  are  harmless.  Its  fastnesses  harbor  no  wild  beasts, 
whatever  may  have  once  been  true  as  to  bears  and  panthers,  wolves 
and  wild  cats. 

What  do  cave  animals  feed  upon  ?  The  !Myriopoda  subsist  on  decay- 
ing wood,  and  the  debris  swept  in  by  streams.  Crickets  also  live  on 
decaying  vegetable  matter.  But  the  majority  of  cave  animals  are 
scavengers,  feeding  on  the  relics  left  by  human  visitors.  Spiders  spin 
their  webs  in  the  dark  to  catch  silly  flies.  Blind  crawfish  live  on  the 
Craugonyx  and  other  minute  Crustacea,  on  which  also  the  eyeless  fish 
likewise  feed,  as  well  as  on  the  young  crawfish,  when  these  can  be 
caught,  and  on  minnows  of  their  own  species.  They  have  been  kept 
for  a  year  in  an  aquarinni  with  no  food  except  the  convervae  and  aui- 
malculae  growing  naturally  in  the  water. 

All  kinds  of  cave  fauna  tend  to  deterioration.  The  plants  are 
bleached.  The  spiders,  flies,  and  centipedes  are  either  a  pale  brown 
or  white.     The  fish  are  translucent.     We  do  not  recall  an  exception 


I 


Appendix.  73 

to  this  general  rule.  Seeraiugly  the  cells  are  absorbed  in  which  the 
light  should  have  secreted  pigmental  matter.  Sightless  animals,  how- 
ever, show  differences  indicating  a  progressive  adaptation  to  tlieir  en- 
vironment. They  also  enjoy  some  peculiar  compensations  for  the 
atrophy  of  their  organs  of  vision,  in  the  increased  sensitiveness  of 
their  other  organs,  and  in  the  remarkable  elongation  of  their  hair, 
autenuie,  and  limbs.  Their  habits  are  extremely  wary.  Put  the  com- 
mon crawfish  in  the  same  tank  with  the  blind  variety ;  offer  the  same 
food  to  both  ;  by  the  former  it  will  be  taken  eagerly  and  disposed  of, 
but  the  latter  will  dart  back,  wave  its  long  feelers  for  further  informa- 
tion, and  only  take  the  morsel  after  a  series  of  cautious  approaches 
and  retreats. 

As  to  the  age  of  the  cavern  Fauna,  some  authorities  carry  it  back 
to  the  Cretacious  period,  others  to  the  Tertiary,  and  others  again  no 
furtlier  than  the  early  Quaternary.  I  incline  toward  the  more  mod- 
ern date.  Comparisons  have  been  worked  out  between  the  cavern 
Fauna  and  certain  abyssal  species  from  the  Alpine  lakes,  the  Caspian 
Sea,  and  deep  oceanic  soundings.  But  after  all  the  cavern  region 
must  have  been  insular,  at  a  time  when  its  surroundings  were  marine 
or  lacustrine.  That  being  so,  its  life  would  be  characteristic  of  that 
period  whose  retreating  waves  made  the  insular  region  possible,  which 
Avas  presumably  the  Quaternary.  Insulation  would  result  in  isolation  ; 
and  that  amid  disadvantages  fatal  to  weak  or  iuflexible  species,  and 
modifying  stronger  ones.  Surviving  forms  would  gradually  become 
adapted  to  their  peculiar  environment  by  a  process  more  fitly  de- 
scribed as  retardation  than  as  development. 

Why,  under  what  we  regard  as  a  beuigu  administration,  should 
certain  species  be  imprisoned  as  denizens  of  darkness  for  successive 
generations,  spanning  thousands  of  years,  until  the  beautiful  organs 
once  enabling  their  ancestors  to  enjoy  the  blessed  light,  should  have 
wasted  away  and  totally  disappeared  ?  A  partial  answer  is  found  in 
the  wonderful  compensations  that  manifest  the  constant  working  of  a 
benevolent  design,  even  amid  extraordinary  obstacles.  Some  prob- 
lems that  used  to  be  deemed  insoluble  liave  been  clearly  solved;  and 
others  that  now  are  dark  will  yet  be  made  clear  for  men  who  have  pa- 
tience to  wait  and  work  and  think.  Meanwhile  let  us  rejoice  in  the 
infinite  variety  of  revelations  actually  made  to  our  growing  minds, 
whether  from  the  starry  skies,  the  abysmal  seas,  or  from  the  laby- 
rinthine caves  and  subterranean  streams. 


APPENDIX  B. 


THE   OPENING  OF   GANTER   AVENUE. 

If  the  reader  will  find  on  the  general  Map  of  the  Cave,  the  local- 
ities designated  as  the  Wooden  Bowl  Room  (25),  and  the  Serpent 
Hall  (45),  he  will  better  understand  the  significance  and  importance 
of  Ganter  Avenue,  the  name  now  given  to  a  combination  of  several 
smaller  avenues,  effected  by  sixteen  months  of  hard  labor  under  Mr. 
H.  C.  Ganter's  direction,  and  plotted  by  H.  C.  Hovey  and  Ben 
Hains,  March,  1891.  The  history  of  this  passage-way  is  peculiar.  In 
September,  1879,  certain  guides  returning  from  the  end  of  the  cave, 
noticed,  on  reaching  Serpent  Hall,  that  smoke  was  issuing  from  a 
crevice  to  which  their  attention  had  not  previously  been  called. 
They  were  naturally  excited,  as  they  could  not  imagine  the  cause  of 
such  a  phenomenon,  suggesting  some  sort  of  internal  fire.  But  having 
crossed  Echo  river  to  the  shore  nearest  the  entrance,  they  found  work- 
men there  pitching  a  boat,  and  by  that  means  creating  a  great  smoke 
not  perceived  on  the  river.  This  showed  that  there  must  be  some 
secret  connection  between  the  two  places.  Going  back  to  Serpent 
Hall  they  wormed  their  way  through  a  series  of  extremely  narrow 
crevices,  finally  emerging  by  the  Black  Snake  Avenue  into  the  Wooden 
Bowl  Room.  To  this  new  discovery  I  gave  the  name  of  Welcome 
Avenue;  but  now,  with  permission,  re-name  the  entire  combination 
Ganter  Avenue,  in  honor  of  the  manager,  by  whose  tireless  energy 
and  engineering  skill  it  has  been  opened  for  the  public.  In  doing  this 
feat  obstacles  were  overcome  that  seemed  insurmountable. 

For  a  long  distance  ^the  passage,  though  thirty  or  forty  feet  high, 
was  extremely  narrow  at  the  bottom,  besides  being  as  crooked  as  pos- 
sible. A  new  stone  floor  was  boldly  laid  midway  to  the  top  where  a 
wider  path  was  secured.  Yet  even  then  the  walls  converged  at  places 
so  as  to  compel  one  to  go  sidewise  for  a  hundred  yards  at  a  time  ;  and 
when  two  men  met,  one  of  them  would  have  to  lie  down  and  let  the 
other  walk  over  his  body.  The  walls,'  moreover,  were  frequently 
studded  with  countless  knobs  from  two  to  five  inches  long,  and  sharp 
enough  to  make  a  careless  passer  quite  uncomfortable.  At  no  small 
cost,  and  by  much  judicious  digging,  pounding  and  blasting,  these  and 
other  obstacles  have  been  overcome,  so  that  the  entire  avenue  is  now 
(74) 


Appendix.  75 

easily  passable.  Amoag  the  remarkable  triumphs  of  engineering, 
especially  remembering  the  narrow  quarters  of  the  workmen,  is  the 
construction  of  what  we  have  called  Rider  Haggard's  Flight  (for  the 
author  of  that  remarkable  cave-novel  "She")  ;  a  stairway  of  one  hun- 
dred solid  stone  steps  connecting  the  three  levels  of  the  cavern.  There 
are  branches  from  the  avenue  leading  to  domes,  pits  and  crystal 
rooms,  etc.  But  the  main  advantage  of  the  passage  is  that  it  enables 
the  manager  to  send  parties  over  the  Long  Route  at  any  time  of  the 
year,  regardless  of  the  condition  of  the  rivers.  Ordinarily  tourists 
would  much  prefer  to  go  by  River  Hall,  on  acconnt  of  the  fine  echoes, 
as  well  as  other  objects  of  interest.  But  when  the  streams  art-  flooded, 
Gauter  Avenue  will  alwavs  be  found  dry  and  safe.  The  direct  rock  dis- 
tance from  the  Wooden  Bowl  Room  to  Serpent  Hall  is  estimated  at 
about  3,200  feet;  but  such  are  the  manifold  windings  of  Ganter  Av- 
enue, that  its  entire  length,  as  measured  by  us,  is  exactly  8,500  feet, 
although  to  a  weary  visitor,  longing  for  the  comforts  of  the  hotel  after 
n  day's  journey  under  ground,  it  would  probably  seem  to  be  twice 
that  distance 


MAMMOTH  CAVE  HOTEL 

Is  situated  in  ^Edmonson  County,  Kentuclcy,  on  the  south  side  of  Green  River,  on 
a  plateau  of  735  leet  elevation  above  tlie  Atlantic.  Travel  to  this  renowned  re- 
sort is  facilitated  by  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad  and  its  various  branches, 
embracing  the  whole  South  and  connecting  with  all  the  principal  railroad  lines 
of  the  country.  This  important  railroad  is  unrivaled  for  its  safety,  speed,  and 
comfort.  Three  Express  Trains  leave  its  norlhi-rn  and  southern  termini  daily, 
and  connect  at  Glasgow  Junction,  Ky„  with  a  /ir si- elans,  steel-track  railroad  to 
Mammoth  Cave.  Those  holding  through  tickets  are  entitled  to  stop-over  at  tha 
Cave  within  the  limit  of  their  tickets. 

The  road  from  Glasgow  Junction  to  Mammoth  Cnve  winds  amnni  the  hllis 
and  across  the  hiirh  table  lands,  passing  through  large,  lineiy  wooded  iruci'3  to  the 
Green  Eiver  Bluffs,  on  which  the  Hotel  is  situated. 

The  Hotel,  surrounded  by  a  verdant  lawn  and  shade  trees,  is  a  spacious  build- 
ing, and  with  its  wing  of  cottages  attached,  furnishes  comfortable  and  ample  accom- 
modations to  visitors  to  the  Cave.  Six  hundred  feet  of  portico  forms  one  of  the  most 
delightful  promenades  imaginable  for  summer  weather.  Aside  from  the  attraction 
of  the  Cave  as  a  natural  wonder,  this  spot  is  a  charmino  resort  for  those  seeking 
quiet  and  recreation  during  the  heated  term.  Attached  to  the  Hotel  are  a  spacious 
ball  room,  croquet,  lawn  tennis,  and  archery  grounds.  The  woods  surrounding  the 
Hotel  and  grounds,  with  their  deep  shaded  ravines,  furnish  delightful  promenades, 
while  Green  Eiver,  at  a  short  distance,  offers  excellent  opportunities  for  boating 
and  fishing.  The  table  is  well  supplied  from  the  farms  of  the  estate,  and  gives 
universal  satisfaction  to  those  who  appreciate  wholesome  and  nutritious  fare. 

The  Cave  is  reached  by  a  shady  path  down  the  side  of  a  beautiful  ravine,  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  Hotel.  Amid  noble  trees,  hanging  vines  and  fringing 
ferns  is  the  entrance  to  this  subterranean  world  of  wonders.  '  Its  avenues,  passages, 
domes,  pits  and  rivers,  already  explored,  extend  over  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
on  various  levels,  o£  which  the  lowest  is  325  feet  from  the  surface,  and  still  many 
years  of  exploration  are  necessary  before  the  main  wonders  will  be  known. 

Tourists,  unless  desiring  a  leisurely  exploration,  when  special  arrangements 
can  be  made,  are  conducted  by  competent  guides  to  all  interesting  points  of  the 
Cave,  and  for  the  convenience  of  visitors,  the  following  routes  are  established: 

Long  Route — including  Main  Cave,  Rotunda,  Giant's  Coffin,  Pits  and  Domes, 
Echo  Eiver  and  beyond  to  end  of  Cave,  returning  by  way  of  the  "  Corkscrew,"  a 
distance  (approximated)  of  twenty  miles,  $3  00. 

Short  Route — embracing  Rotunda,  Main  Cave,  Gothic  Gallery,  Star  Cham- 
ber, Giant's  Coffin,  Pits  and  Domes,  etc.,  a  distance  (approximated)  of  eight  miles, 
$2  00. 

Mammoth  Dome  or  Egyptian  Temple — with  its  beautiful  Colonade  and 
lofty  vault,  $1  00. 

Chief  City — five  hundred  feet  m  length,  two  hundred  feet  in  width,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  covering  an  area  of  two  acres,  $1.00. 

"White's  Cave — a  short  distance  from  the  Hotel,  is  also  greatly  admired  on 
account  of  the  beauty  and  variety  of  its  stalactitic  formations,  and  is  shown  for 
$1  00. 

Bayard  Taylor  says  of  the  Cave,  after  visiting  all  the  great  natural  wonders 
of  the  Old  and  New  Worlds : 

"  I  had  boen  twelve  hours  under  ground,  but  I  had  gained  an  ago  in  a  strange  and  hith- 
erto unknown  world;  an  age  of  wonderful  experience,  and  an  exhaustless  .store  of  sublime 
and  lovely  memories.  Be/ore  taking  a  final  leave  of  the  Mammoth  Cave,  however,  let  me 
assure  those  who  have  followed  nie  through  it  that  no  description  can  do  justice  to  its 
sublimity,  or  present  a  fair  picture  of  its  manifold  wonders.  It  is  the  greatest  natural 
curiosity  I  have  ever  visited,  Niagara  not  excepted,  and  he  whose  expectations  are  not  sat- 
isfied by  its  marvelous  avenues,  domes,  and  starry  grottoes,  must  either  be  a  fool  or  a  dem- 
igod." 

A  visit  to  Mammoth  Cave  at  any  season  of  the  year  is  delightful.  The  tern- 
perature,  fifty-five  degrees,  being  the  same  the  year  round.  The  most  delicate  can 
visit  it  without  fear  of  cold,  heat,  or  exhaustion. 

Transient  Eates,  $3.00  per  Day.  Liberal  arrangements  made  for  Summer 
boarders  by  the  week  or  month,  and  for  Excursion  parties  over  ten  in  number,  both 
at  Hotel  and  for  Cave  Fees. 

Open  all  the  year.     Both  a  Winter  and  a  Summer  Resort. 

For  further  information,  apply  to  H.  C  Ganteb,  Agent,  Mammoth  Cavs 
Estate,  Mammoth  Cave,  Ky. 


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